Winding the Clock
by GeekGirl2
Summary: So Negima wound down, like Chachamaru's spring. Well, she's not the only thing that can be rewound... Asuna is home, the group is back together, and the only thing hovering over them is a long term project. They graduated middle school, not high school or college, after all. AU after 353 middle school graduation, they're not leaving Mahora yet, permanently anyway.
1. The Highest Price to Pay

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, of course. Except my laptop._

_AN: With thanks to my Beta, VVoltronSV. Not sure where this started coming from, but I liked it, and was inspired to keep writing it. Apologies for any issues.  
_

"The Highest Price to Pay" (Immediately after Chapter 351)

_Just a little longer, _Asuna thought. _The facade has to hold for just a little bit longer..._

But it was difficult to keep holding it up. Especially watching three of her best friends and personal saviors bawling their eyes out. She _had_ to hold though. She had reason, after all... This would, according to the others, be the very last time anyone would see Kagurazaka Asuna. And be her last memory ever of them, before all her memories of them, Mahora Academy, and everything else...

… She felt her eyes misting and tearing up, and tried to fight it, hoping the others didn't notice. She'd put on such a confident act before the portal opened. '_I will see you again, I'm sure of it.'_ she had said. But she wasn't sure. She narrowed her eyes for a moment as she flew up for the portal.

_It really didn't help that Eva had to 'remind' all of us._ She sighed to herself. 'Wears the same face, but will not be her', Eva had said. And they intended to be waiting when she came out of her hundred year sleep. Negi would make that just fine if he'd become like Evangeline, another hundred years is nothing to her. Outside of another miserable century of being trapped as a lolicon. She could almost feel sympathy now, though. She would be worse.

Her thought was interrupted by the voice of Jack Rakan next to her, as they came out at the other side of the gate, to head to the ruins of Ostia and the Gravekeepers' Palace. "Surprised you're so quiet. Negi convinced you, yeah, but I almost expected at least some noise on the issue. The memories of before already eating at your attitude?"

That caused her to twitch, even from her resigned expression which never left her. "Negi didn't 'convince' me. He just explained the plan and what it would need to stop the disaster. As much sacrifice, battle, and hardship has been inflicted on everyone, especially since it's happened multiple times now..." She sighed. "Setsuna wanted me to run away from all of it with her, already, when she heard about it. I had to quietly explain to her what all had gone on before, as well as now. Being sealed away willingly isn't like being locked into a horror device. Especially since I'm fixing it this time. After everything I remember being forced to cause..." She shivered.

By this point, they had boarded the ship and embarked on their flight to the palace, and dread tried to rise up and grip parts of her heart. She pushed it back down, though. She would not be afraid. She might only be Kagurazaka Asuna for a short while longer before being sealed. But she would be herself for her last little while. She tried to steel herself up a little better, though another sigh broke it. "The only thing that really upsets me is thinking of all that I'm going to lose if Al and Eva are right. I learned so much that I didn't know as the princess, I was finally able to defend myself at least SOMEWHAT against being taken and used again. Admittedly, I eventually failed, but I at least put up a fight. If I lose all memories of my life at Mahora, and everything that's happened since I was taken there in hopes of a better life..." A pause. "The worst thing is... it was a better life, I was happy, I had friends who cared about me, I had everything. And I might not even remember them. I nearly started to cry when I looked at them the last time, bawling and crying my name as we went through, thinking that. I had to be strong for them, until we came through... otherwise I'd be bawling as bad as they were. Feels like I'm committing suicide almost. Kagurazaka Asuna dying so the princess might live. I don't regret doing it, but it does hurt for that."

"You will be remembered as a hero for saving our world, Kagurazaka Asuna. Even while you live on as the Princess."

The group finally arrived at the palace, with Asuna mumbling a soft "thanks" to Theodora for her comment. The march to the door of the room where she was to be sealed really took on the tone of a funeral procession from the comments made on it, no one looked entirely comfortable by that point.

She stopped at the door to the chamber, looking down shaking her head. "We'll find out. Or I will at least. I swore that I'd go back and see them one more time when I got out." She looked around at the palace. "In the event I don't remember..." She pulled out a book then, sealed in a bag. "I tried to scribble down what all I remember best of the times I've had. I'm hoping I wrote enough, maybe it'll wake the memories back up. I need to remember me..."

Tears started streaming down then. "I hope Negi is there when I get back. Since he's supposedly going to live a long time now. Might just slap him and call him a brat for old times sake..." She trailed off, stepping through the door, then, tears dripping off onto the ground.

"Goodbye everyone. Please make my sacrifice worth the cost. And please don't let the worlds forget that Kagurazaka Asuna existed." She settled into her sealing spot.

The others nodded to her. "It will be done." Then the door rumbled shut.

She had just enough time to think _goodbye, everyone..._ as she heard the sealing spell getting cast, only one final sniffle and teardrop before feeling her power being pulled, and her body slipping into its hundred year sleep.


	2. Truces and Alliances

_AN: Again, thanks to VVoltronSV for beta'ing me and listening to my bad ideas._

"Truces and Alliances" (Between 351 and 352, after ~40-50 years of sleep)

When the sealing was done, the idea of dreaming during the time of sleep hadn't been brought up, it had generally been assumed that the sleep would be dreamless and silent. With some luck, their princess would awaken, and the hundred years and the Kagurazaka personality would all slip away. A ways into the sleep, however, a strange dream started to happen...

Kagurazaka Asuna didn't realize where she was, but realized there was a foggy haze there currently. She didn't feel 'right' somehow, and had some nebulous memory of the sealing, but not how she got into this. She looked out at the haze, and called out into it. "Hello?! Is anyone there?!" She didn't really expect any response, but just in case, thought it would be worth the attempt. She held herself from wandering forward as she listened...

And heard a soft footstep of some kind. She blinked, then closed her eyes, trying to identify the location of the step, a shot of annoyance going through her. "I know someone is in here! I just heard you move! Now don't be sneaking around stalking me!" She turned toward where she heard the movement, stepping forward just a bit and looking around again.

The voice that responded seemed to come from everywhere at once, projected. "'Stalking you?' What a very interesting term to use. I could say similar of you, or could have previously. Once you saw my memories, you chose the sealing, to fix the problems with Mundus Magicus. To give honor to the others and what they have done, both for me, and now seemingly for you."

Kagurazaka-san was chilled at the words being said. "Y... You're the actual Princess. The one they said would wake up and forget I ever existed..." She shivered, and looked around again.

The scene started to clear, seemingly a view of a quiet beach. And standing within the space of said beach, she saw another figure. A younger version of herself, with longer ties in place of her trademark bells, holding her hair in check. "You have already felt me though. I came through while we were being held prisoner, and somewhat during the few months since." She gave the slightest sigh of resignation. "The truth of what had become of my existence. Over a century of being nothing more than a pawn or weapon."

"... Being stolen from and being used to steal, declared a monster. I saw. It felt almost like I was watching the past of someone else, even as I remembered..." Kagurazaka sighed. "I'm sorry. If I'd known any of this beforehand, I probably would have stayed away from Mundus Magicus totally. Instead, another imprisonment, another near-abuse..." she scowled. "I really felt helpless during that whole thing. I didn't like it at ALL." She clenched a fist idly, looking at it. "Ever since the breakout attempt when I snapped out of the shock from memory block being removed, I've been pissed off no end about losing that fight. I wasn't clean enough, I didn't have the cancel field up... and I failed. I'm sorry for that as well."

"Do not be sorry, Kagurazaka-san. You made a valiant attempt. The son of Nagi Springfield was not able to stop Fate entirely either, initially. You acted to protect both yourself, me, and the other captured girl. You did... far more than I ever would have dreamed of daring to try. I would have been silently marched off to my fate. You, however, stood up as a warrior to try and stop it." The Princess sighed very softly. "You have learned a great deal of what I once was taught, before winding up broken the way I was. But even if taught the rest, it would likely not be enough to fight Fate, or the Mage of the Beginning..."

Kagurazaka blinked and frowned.. "Not like I'd ever get a chance to anyway, I thought... I did another stupid mistake against you, really, by agreeing to this plan that will keep us both sealed away for so long. But it's my last one. Damn Negi for being so convincing..."

The Princess shook her head slightly. "Do not concern yourself with that. What you did protected a great many people, on top of saving many others from oblivion, immediately upon awakening. You and Negi were able to turn the tide back, even if possibly not permanently. I... tried to be with you as much as possible when the Code of the Lifemaker was used..." She sniffled softly then, tears running down her cheeks softly. "It was the first time anything I've been used for has been undone by my own hand. Or at least by yours, acting as me. I thank you very much for that." She paused briefly. "I am slightly surprised at the nature of our quiet discussion, however."

"Thanks... Wondered how I immediately recalled the spell and all. Felt like I knew more than I normally do as well. It was weird! Still get jokes about getting that number so immediately. Baka Red, able to do math that fast? No one believed it." Kagurazaka laughed softly, despite herself, then. "Still, glad I was able to let you experience that... And... what exactly surprises you? Expecting me to be a brutish ape, like Iincho always says I am?" Her cheer faded at the name, remembering she might never see Class Rep again. She fought to hold back any tears for the moment, at that.

"Well... I almost did expect you to engage in battle to preserve yourself, to be honest." The Princess admitted. "Though I am quite glad it did not come to blows. I would much rather not fight Baka Red for my existence." She didn't laugh, but her tone lightened considerably as she used 'Baka Red' as an appellation. Then she darkened back to her normal emotionless state, and looked down. "Gatou wanted me to have a happy life, as he lay there dying. He was one of the first to ever say I had a right to anything. But... I had known too much suffering for that. When I looked through the memories you had collected, however... Those seemed far happier, even when there was some problem or unpleasantness. The only happiness I have seen in ages."

Kagurazaka nodded just a little bit at that. "Yeah... it has been a lot more fun being me than anything I've seen remembering being you. Even if there was good at some point, it's all gone away. If all the good I had goes away, it will be forever lost though. And you'll still be as you are, someone Negi won't recognize, though Eva might. Since she's one of the ones saying it."

The Princess paused, eyes widening at the final part of that statement. "That's one other thing I would mention you have done, one great risk you have taken with me. I could not have imagined what I would do if I had come face to face with Dark Evangel. The idea that you were able to sit within 30 feet of her on a daily basis for so long a time in itself is amazing. The idea that you convinced her to help with your combat training is an utter shock. From what I have looked at of it, as much as it seemed she was rather ruthless sometimes, she did have valid points to demonstrate with her actions. I highly support continuing to train with her if at all possible, if she is available when we awaken."

"..." Kagurazaka paused at the comment. "Well, isn't that your thing? You might not have gone near her, but well, if you wake up and I don't..." She blinked. "Wait...we?"

"There is much you understand that I do not, Kagurazaka Asuna. And much you have that I do not. You were able to be roused, and have enough will to stand with Negi and turn the tide back as I never might have. You have the will to actually _live_, rather than simply exist. And have a life of happiness and joy. I mostly have memories of misery anymore, though the things I was taught are still there, things past what you have relearned." The Princess paused just a bit. "You might have initially been a 'fabricated' personality, but it was no surprise you reasserted yourself, even after seeing all the memories. You have become far more of a real _person_ than I had been before the memory block was instituted. I am fairly certain I know of a way to merge the knowledge and memories, and personalities, and combine us totally into one entity. It might take a slight bit of time even after awakening, if we are unlucky, but we could come out as Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia Kagurazaka, or rather Kagurazaka Asuna and the rest after, in proper Japanese fashion as you have residence there." She paused a moment, to hear.

Kagurazaka dropped her jaw in utter shock at the statement. "Join... with you? And still be able to live and be almost me?" Hope filled her expression even as tears filled her eyes. "You would really _want_ that?"

The Princess nodded, stepping up to hug Kagurazaka softly, and wipe her tears. "The overall situation may require some adjustment, it comes with having more knowledge, and more ability to understand, since the block affected that as well." She looked down and back up slightly, offering a slight smile. "You will likely not technically qualify as a Baka Ranger anymore, even. Though even I am guilty of referring to you as Baka Red earlier. But the effect that will have on personality is likely not great. Better a smart fighter than a 'dumb brute', as your friend Ayaka has referred to you as, yes?"

Kagurazaka reddened slightly at the comment, trying to put her trademark scowl back into place, even as she tried not to laugh. "I thought I heard you call me that, earlier! Is there really NO escape from that title? But yeah, might be helpful. Too bad it didn't come early enough so I could retest and fix some of those grades..." She flinched when she heard Ayaka's name mentioned, her eyes filling up with tears again, and her scowl dropping totally. "I... wonder how many will still be there... Even if I join with you, a lot of the people I know and care about will be gone... The others... I'll likely only see them again once before they die of old age..." The tears started to flow freely again. "Even together as one, the only ones there past the first reunion with any left, will be Negi and Eva. And she openly said not to expect her to even see me..."

That drew a flinch from the Princess as well. "I... had not considered that." she sighed and drooped. "I am sorry my presence as part of you has cost you that, I really am." She shivered softly. "It always seems like one more person, having their life ruined simply by my existence... I will try to help you get through that, If there truly is any way possible to do so..."

Kagurazaka sighed again then, clinging to the Princess tightly before realizing what she was doing and letting off her. "Apologies, milady. Thank you... I would like to continue to exist, yes. If you are willing, please do whatever it is you feel will join us." She tried to dry her own tears then, shivering in her... swimsuit. She hadn't even realized she was wearing it, until then. "Whenever you are ready."

Princess Asuna raised her eyebrows slightly at the previous comments. "Did Setsuna rub off on you when she was using excessive formality that one time?" She offered a little smile then. "It is not needed. We are one. And I will attempt to include a wake up sequence, I somehow doubt they will actually care to ensure that we wake up on schedule, unless Negi does it himself."

Kagurazaka Asuna nodded at that and smiled. "Thanks... Hopefully I can wake up for it. It would be nice if Negi would show up to get me, can't get my hopes up too high though. Then I could yell at him for this." She smiled and settled in.

The Princess nodded, and started working up the internal use spell that would merge them. Kagurazaka didn't hear all the words, or wasn't paying attention to them all, but started feeling different as they wove through the two, the circle of magic forming around both as the effects were worked.

She had time for one last thought, as she slipped further into the sleep under the combination of the spell, merge time, and sealing. And Kagurazaka Asuna only had one thought. _That dream was WEIRD. Or was it a dream..."_

A final answering thought rang, _No, it was not._ And the two sides of Asuna began the slow process of merging into one, as she slept onward over the course of decades.


	3. Miracle Shock

_AN: Harder chapter to write, hope I got it. Sorry if I got anyone too wrong. Asuna might be slightly different at least sometimes, previous chapter explains that. Thanks to VVoltronSV for beta'ing this, of course!_

"Miracle Shock" (Takes place during the final pages of 352, a short time after, and into the first pages of 353.)

Utter devastation. There was no better description of it, even as she stared at the recording, and the images around it. As Asuna sat at the base of the tree where the time capsule was buried, she felt her entire world shatter around her. _I've lost it all. Negi dead. All the others dead. The awakening delayed... _Part of her flinched at that further, remembering the promise made during the 'dream'. _At least it wasn't a dream, and I was awakened by it. Or I might be asleep still._ She tried to reassure the part that flinched. But she stared at the messages, especially the recording from Ayaka, again.

_She clung to life clear until 115, clear to the year I was supposed to wake up, just to see me one more time. And I was late... _She broke down into tears again, almost burying her face into the ground_. Is there any real reason for me to be here anymore?_

_I suppose I could go to Ariadne, or somewhere similar. But I would rather avoid Mundus Magicus for the moment. __I overslept 30 years, and __whatever happened, __no one even came to check..__. I really am 'stuck'. I might as well not even exist._ She tried to sit herself back up, still staring at the images. She could almost hear their voices talking to her, even in the still images. It pushed her into further tears, more audibly than before.

Which was why it came as an utter startling shock to her, when a young sounding voice cut through her tears, a familiar voice from her own class, though not in its usual icy, cutting tone. "Looks like that hit you pretty hard, Kagurazaka Asuna."

She started just slightly and looked up to see, and got a shock. Eva... _Dark Evangel, the Undying Wizard, the one whose names were used to scare children all over Mundus Magicus..._ She shifted gears back to the memories of direct contact again. _She said straight up not to expect her to come. And her cottage was abandoned..._

And someone was behind her, though whoever that was stayed behind, in the shadows for the moment. Asuna just blinked away her tears. "Ah..."

Eva's hair flowed behind her freely, as she approached. Still appearing ten years old, even after 130 more years. If she heard Asuna speaking, she didn't mention it. Instead, she almost smirked. "I never thought you'd oversleep by thirty years." She looked over Asuna. "Congrats on making it through a long one hundred years of work."

Then the one hiding in the shadows slipped out from them finally. And Asuna's heart nearly stopped dead on the spot. _It CAN'T be! We diverted the timeline, I thought! _Her head almost spun as she saw the face of the one who nearly caused disaster at Mahora Fest.

The shock was evidently expected. And she was met with a wink from none other than Chao Lingshen. She was smiling brightly as she said "Quite impressive, Asuna-san!"

Her jaw nearly dropped open. _Chao Lingshen..._ her thought skipped a track. _CASSEOPIA! All of history bows before it!__Quite possibly the most powerful and dangerous device ever created, yes, and misused __originally__, yes, but... __It was a miracle when it was first explained what it did, and it __is __STILL a miracle now. But how the heck did __Chao manage to__ get here? And why? Unless..._ Her eyes widened further. _Unless it's for MY miracle... Everyone cried so hard then, and I cried so hard now... Casseopia would be my ticket home!_

Asuna shook herself out of her racing thoughts enough to blush and offer a smile to Chao and Eva. "Th...thanks." She couldn't keep a slight hitch from her voice. "Quite a surprise and definite, uh, unexpected pleasure to see you again, Chao-san!" She smiled to Eva again then. "And I'm glad to see you decided to come see me as well. Knew right where to find me, huh?"

Eva smirked just a little at the response, peering over Asuna speculatively. "I had some idea of where I'd find 'Kagurazaka Asuna' if she still existed, at least. I wasn't honestly sure I'd find you here at all, to be honest, 'Princess'."

Chao laughed just a little bit at Eva and raised her eyebrows. "Our Asuna-san is quite strong, Eva-chan. Almost worth its own study really, as something I have not had full opportunity to observe in detail. When does a 'substitute' personality gain the upper hand over the original..." She scribbled that onto a data device. "Definitely worthy of further analysis, yo. Hehe." She grinned broadly.

"Eh?" Asuna blinked slightly and blushed again. "Actually... there's a whole story to that, of weird things that happened while I was sealed up all that time." She glanced to both of them, nervously. "It's funny though, Eva. You and Albireo both said nearly the same thing at different points, at least reportedly in the latter case to Setsuna..." She flinched slightly when saying the name. "But the answers are really never that simple. There was a confrontation between us, or what I thought would be. But the Princess didn't approach in the manner of a challenger in battle for the body. Even when she thought it might be a battle at the time. But it wasn't. One does not 'replace' the other. Rather, the two join, to become a single entity. And a paperwork headache while I update my name on a lot of things..." She paused then. "Depending on whether I need to or not."

Eva and Chao both smiled at Asuna, in response to that. Eva's response was the quicker of the two, and a raised eyebrow joined the smile as it turned into a distinct smirk. "Remembered that, at least, and had to bring it up, hm? Humph." she snickered then. "Still, your reaction to the time capsule certainly says much. She merged to you, rather than you merging to her, obviously."

Chao's smile turned much more warm, as her eyebrows both raised. "As far as the proper paperwork is concerned, I would suggest that it be held, at least outside of Mahora, if you return to it. Since it will not be explainable elsewhere entirely, at our destination." She winked. "The plan was to wait for ten years to let the public know, here." She grinned even more then, holding up Casseopia. "After all, I came, ne? Should be obvious why considering before."

_I was right, I really was right! I'm going home!_ It was all she could do to avoid pouncing Eva and Chao entirely, though she did rush up to hug both of them, tears spilling down again. "Thank you... thank you both so much... I just wish there was some way I could pay you back for this..." She sighed, and thought for a moment.

Which was all that Eva needed to squirm her way out of the hug. "Gah! Don't be doing that to me. Unless you have holes in your memory, you know damned well I don't want mushy crap." she still was grinning as she said it, though.

Chao was more receptive, and returned it for at least a moment. "Glad to be appreciated and welcomed back so readily after what happened before." She blinked at the odd expression on Asuna's face though, glancing to Eva. "Hm. Almost looks as though our Baka Red is actually thinking, yo. Almost scary."

Eva glanced back at Chao and offered an almost malicious smirk at the observation, looking over Asuna intently. "Hmm. Baka Red actually can think? I didn't think that was possible. Though I suppose with the new influence, anything might be possible..." She snickered. "And she hates being called Baka Red, remember? All the more reason to keep doing it."

Asuna gave a cheerful scowl and slight blush at Eva and Chao, laughing at the discussion, shaking her head just a little bit. "Har har, really funny. Even if that _is_ part of it, Eva-san. The five months before the sealing brought my grades up significantly, the block wasn't just keeping memories out." She shook her head just slightly and laughed. "And as far as that other part... During the little not-dream, well, even my own other half called me Baka Red once. Guess there's no escaping it."

A laugh bubbled out of Chao at the response. "Heh. Princess has a point, ne?" She grinned at Asuna. "Still, you _were_ thinking, Baka Red. And no water works even. So something is up."

A quick nod then, as Asuna's expression became more contemplative once again. "Yeah, I was thinking. Wondering if I shouldn't leave a note saying that I woke up and left, just in case anyone cares enough to check and see if I've vanished or anything, at some future point. I figure I should leave it where I was sealed, to make sure the right people find the thing."

Eva smirked. "What, a note to say 'I served my time and extra, all of you can go to hell now'? Or something similar?" She offered a slight 'hmph' at the thought. "Still, I suppose they will wonder. Write it and send it through to the palace. No need for all of us to go through."

Asuna laughed a little bit. "That's why I hesitated to ask, I didn't figure anyone wanted to go through there. Sending it through alone works, though." She pulled one of the recording notes, and started recording, trying to keep the emotions out of her voice as she did.

_To whoever finds this note:_

_Today is March 26, 2135. I woke up this morning. After being sealed asleep for 130 years rather than 100. Regardless of what anyone thought at the time of my being sealed away, I did not lose any of my memories. And I woke up to find that everyone I knew, and everything I cared about... was gone. Gone, or so far changed that it was unrecognizable. All the people I truly knew were either in Ala Rubra, Ala Alba, or Mahora, and all of them are long gone. The last one fell the year I was SUPPOSED to wake up._

_I'm sure it would have looked wonderful for both worlds at large if I had committed suicide shortly after waking up. But I simply will be gone, and you can live your lives without me. For myself, well, I finally got my miracle. That's all I'll say._

_Oh, and that I was impressed in a minor way when I saw a flying car in Japan._

_With no regrets,_

_Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia Kagurazaka (or Kagurazaka Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia in Japan/Mahora. Or just Kagurazaka Asuna. Which STILL fits.)_

_Once and Future Mahora Academy Student_

_President of the English Culture Research Club student organization, Mahora Academy Class 3-A (Ala Alba)_

_Baka Red (Leader of the supposed 'Baka Rangers' after school extra credit study group, Mahora 3-A)_

_Imperial Princess of the Twilight_

With that, she closed the note, setting it on the gate above Mahora, and sending it back to Gravekeepers Castle, to wait for whoever cared to check. "There..."

Eva snickered softly as she did it, giving Chao a glance, and shaking her head. "'After school extra credit study group'? What a 'pleasant' euphemism for the class idiots..." She rolled her eyes just slightly.

Chao smiled brightly as the note was sent away, laughing softly at Eva's remarks and glancing to a distinctly blushing Asuna. She made sure to set Casseopia for a very specific date and time, Eva and Asuna each taking hold gently to her arms, as she activated the watch, and the entire future seemed to blow away in a time vortex.

In a seeming instant, the world re-formed into an image _very_ recognizable to her, as she saw Negi, Ayaka, Konoka, Setsuna, Eva, and Chachamaru, with some others just exiting, not noticing the arrival. Her friends very noticeably had all been crying, and she thought she even heard the tail end of Konoka's voice... calling her name?

And bent over knelt on the ground as she did. There was only one point that could be, and even knowing what Casseopia could do, it was still the second biggest shock to Asuna since she woke back up. Her miracle..."W-wait"... She stumbled over the words slightly even. Several heads shot up as she started speaking, as well. "Isn't this... right around when I set off?"

When they realized it was her, and stampeded to all hug her, she didn't mind at all. She crashed back onto the ground with all of them on her, and clung to them like there was no tomorrow for several moments. The tears of the others joined hers, all sorrow washed away in joy. She was home.


	4. Then and Now

_AN: This chapter took me the longest to write. I'm submitting 1-4 cause I had them all done. I didn't want to post story until I had this chapter ready, for various reasons. Thanks to VVoltronSV for being my beta, and I will try to update regularly from here on out, I have ideas, it's just a matter of putting them to dialogue._

"Then and Now" (353, after Chao's explanation):

After all the explanations were done, and Eva went off to find her spare Nagi, the others from 3-A hovered around a little while, discussing the graduation trip, and seating arrangements. After all, the trip now included at least one someone Iincho hadn't accounted for.

Ayaka had her phone out and was dialing it almost immediately when that came up, calling the hotel to adjust the arrangements. There was a brief squawk of protest on the other end of the line, but she cut it off. "Simply add it to the current charge." Another brief unheard statement. "Service charge?! The arrangements are being handled multiple weeks in advance, and it's currently one extra person." She huffed. "There _might _be a second, I'm not sure yet however, please keep the option open." She growled as she snapped the phone shut. "Stupid hotels. I should _never_ have dealt with any hotel that has more than one location. The menials in the reservation department haven't a clue who they're dealing with... I may end up changing totally to one more... amenable to persuasion."

Negi blinked and paused at the statement. "Ahh... Iincho-san, you really think that would be necessary?" He looked up at her curiously.

Asuna snorted and glanced over to Negi at that question, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Ah, precious normality." She snickered again then. "Iincho wants a small hotel she can wave the Yukihiro Group over so they'll bow to her personal whims, of course. Certainly would be better for all of us on the trip, likely..." She glanced over at Iincho then, pausing and shivering softly on doing so. The recording from 2090 echoed in her head. _She was the only one other than Eva... she waited clear until 2104 for me... _She fought back a lump in her throat. _I'm home, the timeline has changed. I shouldn't be so upset about things that won't happen. _

Ayaka peered over at Asuna at that comment, with a distinct 'humph' noise. "Just because I know how to ensure suitable accommodations for all of us... It would be uncivilized to have our normal Mahora rooming arrangements during a trip which isn't school sponsored. I've made exception for Setsuna-san and Konoka-san, since they're a 'couple'. And they have separate beds." Somewhere behind, Konoka made a brief pouting face at that, making Setsuna blush. "Since I know _some_ people would rather be around others most of the time, a conference room has been checked out, big enough for the class to mill around in together, and plan for other activities..." She blinked out of her rundown of hotel accommodation needs as she saw the shiver from Asuna, raising her eyebrows.

Negi paid some attention to the hotel plans, though he had heard them. "I'm sure all the planning will be fine, Iincho-san. Regardless if you switch hotels for it. Thank you again for sponsoring this trip and handling it." He stopped when he realized that Asuna had shivered when she looked towards Ayaka. "Asuna-san? Is something wrong?"

Asuna blushed quickly as she heard the question from Negi, glancing between him and Ayaka and shaking her head just slightly. "No. Just... thinking about things I saw earlier in the day for me. But that's stuff I'd... rather not think about now. And rendered moot." She smiled briefly then, before covering her mouth and yawning softly. "Never thought about it during MahoraFest, but time travel does odd things to one, sometimes. It's still morning, but I've been up almost a whole day already, even if a lot was in the other 2135..."

Chao snickered softly from her spot to the side, at the observation, offering a slight shrug. "Well this was the point you wanted to come back to, ne? It would be bad form to come back later after everyone was crying and calling your name." She smiled to the others, then looked back at Asuna. "Coming back now stops other problems too. Crying doesn't last forever, yo."

Ayaka paused to consider Chao's words, frowning at the implications. "In other terms, as much as some of us love our dear Sensei..." She wrapped her arms around him quickly, earning a glare from Asuna and mumble of 'shotacon', though neither act was done in complete seriousness, "With Ala Alba's supposed 'leader' gone, as part of the plan of the one they formed to support, not all would keep loving him."

Chao simply nodded at the observation. "And others still would love him. And put the whole group at odds with itself. But not anymore, ne? With Asuna back there's no reason. And after seeing her reaction to the original future, I'm betting she's rather hoping to keep you all together longer."

Asuna promptly blushed further, and shivered again at the observation, suddenly finding the building under her feet very fascinating for some reason. But she hardened herself after a moment, and looked over to Chao. "I'm sorry you had to see that, please forget about it. I'm already getting better. Or just more tired." She glanced to the others then, smiling. "Asides, shouldn't everyone be in class right now? I got my diploma so can go sleep, but..."

The others nodded their agreement to that, and the whole group started down the steps, Asuna and Negi in front, Chao at the back so she'd have more people between her and the staff, in case they were still upset about MahoraFest. "Good thing I'm in my school uniform..." Asuna mumbled, then blinked, glancing back to Chao. "Might want to be careful who sees you until I can talk to the dean, considering how you left last time." She smiled just a little. Chao, for her part, simply nodded, though she was still smiling.

Near the bottom of the steps from the roof, Asuna stepped wrong on one of the steps, and nearly tripped, stumbling down a step or two, to stop rather noisily at the bottom of the stairs.

Not far from the stairs, Alberio, Eishun, Konoemon and Takahata had stopped for a moment to chat about something. The noise from the steps made them blink up, glancing over as the party descended from the roof. Which resulted in eight widened eyes and four dropped jaws at the sight of who had tripped on the stairs, and a significant pause from all of them, conversation suddenly forgotten.

A pause that went unnoticed initially by Negi and the others. Negi particularly tried to get to where he could try and help Asuna stay standing if needed. She glanced back to make sure the others were behind, muttering towards Negi after. "Remind me to smack you if you ever have another idea like this..."

Negi scratched the back of his head at that, blushing very slightly. "Er..." he looked up at her sincerely. "I'll try to avoid plans like that in the future. Really. Watching you leave was harder than I ever thought, even with five months to say goodbye. It especially hit home when I saw you going up the gate with the others, thinking I might never see you again."

"With a little work, it won't be a problem again." Asuna smiled and actually waved to the four who were staring at her, taking note of their shocked expressions and raising her eyebrows slightly, almost laughing at how wide-eyed they were at seeing her. She looked between them for just a moment. "Senseis, elders..." She smiled to all four of them a tiny bit wider. "Is something wrong? You all look like you've just had a shock."

Al was the first to find his voice after the question. "Second thoughts about being sealed?" His expression was mostly neutral, if tinged with worry.

Konoemon's voice had a good deal of surprise, but less worry. "You _did_ agree to it, Kagurazaka-san. Think about what will happen to your friends if Fate attacks here?"

Takahata was rather... nonplussed. "And what will happen to everyone else... Wait. We saw you leave with the others for the sealing... how did you get back this quickly, and alone?"

Eishun blinked at Takahata's question, looking at Asuna with curiosity and concern. "Asuna-chan? Takahata's questions are quite valid, and you seem quite amused, considering..."

Some of the ones behind Asuna actually laughed a little, realizing how the situation looked to the elders, and how it wasn't. As for Asuna herself, she didn't quite laugh, but twitched slightly with a 'hmph' sound, glancing to Takahata and grinning a little again, before looking to Konoemon. "Apologies for the interruption of your discussion, of course. As far as how I got back here, and the rest of the answers, well..." She glanced back to where Chao was behind someone. "I was on my way to request a form for a former student and guest to stay here with us a week, but due to the nature of previous events, needed to talk to you about it first. So not quite alone." She smiled and motioned for Chao to come out.

Takahata just _stared_ at seeing Chao again. "Chao Lingshen..." He turned to Asuna, wide-eyed, but more understanding then. "But how? The timeline she's from isn't this one..."

Asuna nodded just a little bit at that. "No, it isn't. But with some difficulty, different timelines are accessible as well as more simple forward and backward travel..." She smiled in Chao's direction, and looked back, her smile suddenly dropping utterly as she looked between the four. "Eva found a way to contact her, as the last request of Negi, knowing he wouldn't be there to greet me when I woke up." She frowned and ruffled Negi's hair, thinking about all she'd seen earlier in what had been her 'day'. "Not to mention for some reason waking up 30 years late..."

"Woke up thirty years late...?" Alberio echoed softly, thinking about it. "So you were sealed away, and came back after waking up... and remember everything? That is... certainly surprising." He glanced to the others, and back to Asuna for the moment.

"Not really." Asuna looked between Alberio and Eva, a bigger smile even than before creeping across her face as she spoke. "Circumstances dictate that. Something did happen while I was sealed away, as some guessed would, just not what was guessed. When considering how I'd come out, you need to remember the circumstances of _both_ lives, not just which one was 'real' and which was seen as a 'substitute personality'." The smile left, and her expression soured for a moment. "I wasn't going to simply turn back into the little girl who stood silent while being told she was nothing more than a monster or a tool. Fate made the mistake of thinking that, as well, trying to use undoing the memory block as a weapon against me." She paused for a moment to let that sink in, giving Negi a swift glance, then looking over to Takahata. "Remember what I said way back when, about why I could get kanka to work so easily?"

Takahata promptly winced at the reference, looking down at the ground for a moment and away from her. "I remember saying that you shouldn't say things like that... it hurts to hear you think that way."

"But it was effectively true at the time. It had been effectively pushed onto me again and again, that I was 'nothing and no one', and was just a weapon and piece of furniture. As such, empty. Never allowed to have anything in me to that point." A soft sigh escaped Asuna at the expression on Takahata's face, and she offered him a soft smile and more gentle tone. "However, it is not true anymore. That's the gap that's been filled, really. That's why it was able to be worked out as it was." She paused to glance to Takahata, and to the others some. "At some point, I remember what I originally thought was a dream. Where both sides of me confronted one another. The final decision made during the discussion after... was to merge both into one. I remember everything, from both lives, and effectively am partially both. At the risk of sounding like a bad movie reference, there can only be one Asuna. And keeping both sides stops the emptiness, and keeps me a whole person."

Takahata had looked up to her again by that point, listening to the story and nodding just a little, relaxing and smiling some. Then he gave her an appraising look. "You certainly sound different, at least when explaining complicated things like you actually understand them..." Several people behind Asuna snickered loudly at that observation, and she blushed hard, causing him to laugh slightly. "Still, from the sounds, you've come through it well enough."

"Better than I thought I would, certainly. Even if it took being sealed for that long to do it, I come back with Chao and get my whole life and everything I care about back. Possibly one or two dangling threads that might undo it still, but I'm going to be working on those next." She glanced back to Chao and the others, smiling. "Chao in fact guessed one of them herself. I came back in hopes of being with everyone, after all. We should at least all be going through high school, if not for the four year degree after. Kinda hoped we could do that as a solid class still." She glanced to Konoemon. "Which is another form I need to be filling out. Depending on who's going to see it, I needed to know if I should be using the full name at least here, or keep it off in case some filing clerk reads the form?" A slight pause, and Asuna turned around just a little, glancing back in Eva's direction for a second, then looking forward again, laughing softly to herself.

Konoemon cocked an eyebrow at this, looking Asuna over. "Aren't you just a bit too old to be attending high school, Princess?" He laughed just a little, then. "The changed name should be on the application for upper files, that's the only place it will be adjusted however. People will notice you've changed a bit, but that can be written off as 'growing up'..."

Asuna just smiled and shrugged at the first question, cocking her head just slightly. "Is there an age limit to the application? I was too old even when I started if there is." She laughed briefly then. "What's another 130 years, after all." She nodded then. "And understood. I'll take the form back with me to my dorm room... I have to call the newspaper as well, and intend to fill out a second application with it, as well." She stretched slightly then. "I should stay awake even if I've been awake a long time before being brought back here, otherwise my sleep schedule might be too far off to make it to class tomorrow. I may even bring them back by tonight..." She paused then. "Changed a bit, maybe. But in the end... it works out." She glanced back to the group from the roof then. "Sorry for the added emotional roller coaster this morning. I'll try not to let it happen again."

Ayaka humphed at that statement. "Please see to it that you don't. You're enough of an annoying monkey without inflicting emotional trauma on several of your classmates." She made a big show of sniffling and making her voice as snide as possible, but the tone was still light.

Asuna twitched as Ayaka started talking, then heard what was said and growled at the class rep promptly, face heating and hands starting to curl a speck towards fists. Though her tone wasn't _entirely_ serious, either. "Emotional trauma? You don't know a _thing_ about that. You're really lucky, you'll never have to." She shook her head slightly, making a highly exaggerated show of storming off, though she was smiling in a more relaxed way when she looked towards the teachers.

As Asuna walked down the hall in her little show, Konoka, picking up on the tone of the exchange, laughed. "Well, that seemed to put her in a better mood at least. Nice work, Iincho-san!" Negi and Setsuna blinked at her, having taken concerned expressions as the exchange started between them again.

"Humph." Ayaka crossed her arms. "Silly monkey was twitching every time she looked at me. And I'm sure she won't ever say why, so I had to do something to get her off it so it wouldn't happen during class tomorrow. There may be enough issues there, without that."

Setsuna paused and blinked, from her spot next to Konoka. "Issues?" She blinked twice then, in realization, looking down at Negi. "Fate knows about Mahorafest, correct? I hope... Otherwise that could be very problematic when he sees her there tomorrow like nothing happened."

Chao perked up from the back. "Well, if he doubts it, I could always take him on an interesting trip, to prove the point." Her tone lightened more than it was then. "I'm sure some wouldn't mind if I left him there as well. Hmm." She started doing some figuring, on how to do a multiple jump transit.

Negi nodded to Setsuna, even as Chao was speaking. "He's aware of the incident. And having Chao here should be quite helpful..." He looked to Chao then. "We should probably tell him before tomorrow morning's roll call though." She nodded.


	5. The Long Night

_AN: Thanks once again to VVoltronSV, for beta reading. Hope you enjoy._

"The Long Night" (mid-353, a while after Then and Now)

Asuna settled back into the seat at her dorm room's desk with a distinct sigh of relaxation. Then looked around at the beds and desk. _I never thought I'd be so happy to see my dorm room. Even if I won't be seeing it for much longer..._ She smiled just a little at that, settling in and starting to fill out the paperwork, starting with the application to continue on to high school from middle school. _Wonder if they'll change dorm arrangements any when we move to the other dorm rooms. Hope not._

She pondered that as she filled out the form, making sure to use her full name for the school application, since that was just for the upper staff to see. She almost giggled when writing her age down. _Wow, that's a big number. _The smile faded after a short time though, thinking about how much of it was spent. She finished off that form in short order, then pulling the authorization form for Chao to stay, and getting that filled out very quickly and easily.

She smiled just a little when she pulled the third form, putting her 'official' name and age of record on it, and filling in all her information. _Mahora Security... I shouldn't have too much trouble getting into that. Since I'm 'in the know' and have the big sword to deal with any significant threats on that level. _She didn't have much of a resume, but well, she was a soon to be high school student and wasn't expected to. _And even if I were using my real name and age, well, what would I have experience at anyway? Other than the paper route. _She shook her head slightly at the thought, and kept writing.

After all, even without the work experience, she had experience fighting and defending others. And if worse came to worse, on the exotic levels, between kanka, the cancel field, and the _Ensis Exorcizans_... She felt she could be ready for that kind of attacker as well. _Hate to think I'd have to use any of it as security. Still, I need to be ready to, if needed, as part of the new job. If I am more able to protect the rest of the students than some others, I should be doing so anyway._

She nodded slightly at her line of reasoning, continuing to fill the form out, and considering what all she might wind up doing if it were approved. _I just hope I don't wind up being the cause of more incidents. After all the crap in Mundus Magicus, and even before that with von Hermann, I almost worry about being considered a valuable enough target to be seen as the cause of further security incidents. I hope not._

Asuna shook her head and tried to clear it of thoughts like that, as she finished the application, setting it aside once she was done with it, and relaxing just a little bit. She picked up her phone then, and quickly dialed the number of the newspaper, asking about whether the delivery job was filled. Much to her dismay, they had found someone they were trying out, but offered to contact her if the new trainee failed to perform. They had a high standard to live up to after all. After a quick acceptance of that, she sighed and ended the call, settling back onto the chair and closing her eyes for a moment. Or so she thought... The draw into sleep was immediate, head drooping off to one side.

* * *

_She looked around at where she was. It was the grounds of Mahora, and yet it wasn't. She was outside in the rain, on a rooftop. It seemed familiar, wasn't she there before? There was a space elevator in the distance, and someone on a broom... something said those were bad signs._

"_Negi? Konoka? Anyone?" She called out, but no one answered her. __For some reason, she had a slight feeling at the start that no one would. She looked up a the news broadcast and realized where she was. _

"_N-no..." She frowned and stepped back from it. "Was I only dreaming that I went home?" The tears started to fill her eyes, and she felt something under her arm. The time capsule...__The tears poured out as she held it up, and re-opened it, the letter from Iincho on the top. It started playing without her touching it."I'm s-sorry, Iincho-san, I really am... I tried to wake up on time..." __The guilt tore at her even as she said it, tears falling freely. "I'm all alone... I really am all alone..." She ran off the roof, trying to remember back from when her friend's little brother was buried from the stillbirth._

_The distance to the graveyard where the Yukihiro family was buried was not short, however. She kept seeing the images from the capsule float before her eyes, even if it was under her arm. She shivered slightly in the rain, her Mahora uniform jacket getting soaked through._

_There were too many people wandering the streets, as well. She kept her head down, so they couldn't see that not all the wet on her was from the rain. The entire walk felt like a death march to her, not all of the streets and sidewalks familiar to her, having changed in the last 130 years. _

_Despite the changes, she eventually found her way to the cemetery. Walking through the tombstones was harder than she imagined it would be, all the ones with dates she remembered were faded and worn. She remembered for a moment the gravestone she'd seen for Negi, __and the tears started coming down worse again, mixing with the rainwater as they fell from her face._

_When she found the Yukihiro __site, she looked through the markers, collapsing onto her knees when she found the one marked as Ayaka's. "S-sorry you have to see me like this, Iincho-san. I'm so sorry..." She clenched her eyes shut, __shivering through her tears. "Please believe me, I wanted to be there... I don't know why I was in there so much longer..."_

"_And now I hurt you, not even knowing until later how much I did..." __She sighed. "I'm so sorry. It's unforgivable I'm sure, but I still am. Please believe me, I didn't want it to end like this... Everyone is gone, I don't know what to do. I'm barely even sure of who I am here in this future. All I know is that everything __is gone..." She clenched her eyes shut once again, looking up at the gravestone. "Ayaka-san! Please..." She trailed off at that._

* * *

"Ayaka-san! Please..." Asuna's voice was just loud enough to be heard in the hallway. The tears were falling onto her desk, making a puddle beneath her head, and she was shivering even as she slept.

Meanwhile, beyond the door, someone was unintentionally there to hear it. With classes done for the day, various groups were meeting, Ala Alba among them. Asakura Kazumi had forgotten one of her camera lenses however, and since her friend was in Haruna's golem as per now normal... Aisaka Sayo was walking down the hallway, intending to retrieve it.

At least she had been, until she heard the voice from inside the room. The door hadn't been closed tightly, and had fallen open. Since it was open, she looked in to see what was going on. She blinked when she saw the sleeping Asuna, head on her desk and in that state. "Asuna-san? Is everything okay? Is something wrong?" She looked concernedly at the sleeping girl.

Asuna stirred at hearing the voice, blinking and starting to wake up. _Ayaka-san?_ She was still dreaming at least partially, but someone had spoken her name. "Wha- who?" She blinked blearily and saw Sayo standing in the door. "'m fine..." She woke up a little more. "Why you here?"

Sayo blinked just a little bit at the response, expression turning nervous and shy again. "The door to the hallway was open, I heard you calling for Iincho... I was worried something might be wrong."

Asuna shook her head slightly, her half-awake state showing. "No... I'm fine..." She mumbled the words softly. "S-shut the door when you go, please..."

A brief nod from Sayo at that, and a worried look of sympathy. "Whatever is wrong, I wish I could help with it, I worry when I see one of my friends like this..." She sighed softly. "Apologies for disturbing your sleep."

Shaking her head, Asuna mumbled "Thanks.. s'okay..." She tried to smile, but the tracks of the tears still showed. Somewhere in her mind she registered who had stopped to check on her, but nothing conscious. Her eyelids grew heavy and she slid back into sleep totally, then.

Sayo blinked at that, watching her fall asleep, and slipping back out, gently closing the door with the latch. _I should tell Negi-sensei about this..._ She nodded to herself, and moved onward to get the camera lens, figuring she could stop and tell Negi what she'd seen along the way back.

* * *

_The scene had flickered for a moment, and someone had said something, but she wasn't entirely aware of it even as she responded to it. It had a vague sense of something, though. She blinked her vision clear, and was at the grave of Ayaka still. But there was someone else there with her now... The form was almost transparent, in the kind of way that Sayo was... but it wasn't Sayo... She blinked again._

_And the voice of Yukihiro Ayaka issued from the apparition, slightly more hollow than the voice from the recorded letter, but unmistakable. Her tone was scornful. "I waited. I held desperately to my life clear until you were SUPPOSED to wake up..." She looked accusingly at Asuna. "You left me there waiting... I came there every day that year. Right up until the end. I collapsed while I was on that roof... I barely was able to croak your name out, begging for you to come back, when my last breath left me..."_

_Asuna drew in a breath, thinking she was going to respond when the ghost finished its spiel, but her voice caught in her throat as the words hit home, eyes widening at the apparition in front of her. "I... Iincho-san, please... I'm sorry! Did you think I WANTED to be in there another thirty years? I'd hoped to come out and be able to see at least SOME of my friends again." She sucked in a breath, tears staining her uniform jacket and vest as they continued to stream out. "I didn't want it to end like this... I want to go home, I want all my friends back! I want my whole life back!"_

_The Ayaka ghost hissed at her, in response to the comments made. "Your life is forfeit. You can never go back. You will be miserable for an entire lifetime. More than a lifetime, if the aging stops and you end up like that another hundred years. Or longer." She sneered at the shocked image of Asuna, stepping in closer. "And I will be here to watch all of it. All the misery, all the heartache... You're all alone. You have nothing..."_

"_No..." Asuna murmured... The chill of the rain and the ghost seemed to fade slightly. "I'm not left with nothing, even if I am stuck here. I still have all the memories, all the proof... And maybe if I'm lucky some descendants of 3A who might be willing to help me..." She trailed off and looked at the ground again. "I hope..."_

"_There is no hope..." The apparition of Ayaka hissed in response. She looked as though she was going to say more, but she was promptly interrupted from it by a distant voice, calling Asuna's name. And Asuna felt the world shake around her, past her own shivering. Then the voice got much louder... "Asu-"_

* * *

"-na?" Negi gently shook her shoulders slightly, glancing down worriedly at her as he did so, then back up. "She must be very tired, to not wake up from this..." He considered out loud, gently patting the shoulders then."Sorry for trying to wake you up like this, Asuna..."

Asuna woke with a start at the patting and the apology, blinking several times. Her eyes were still full of tears, which she felt and gently dabbed at. She looked up and around once she came to fully, letting out a soft groan and covering a yawn, looking at Negi. "What?" She blinked twice, shaking her head. "A dream..." She murmured to herself. Then looked over and saw Sayo, her memories becoming less hazy. "Hiya, Sayo-san. You were in here once before, right? I wasn't entirely awake..."

Sayo nodded a little at that, tilting her head slightly. "I was rather concerned. You didn't wake up entirely, and between the tears and calling out names, I thought something might be wrong. I got Negi-sensei and came back as soon as I could..."

"Well, that explains the other Ayaka maybe..." Asuna murmured more to herself than anything, and looked to Negi, sighing softly. "Sorry if I caused a minor panic. Didn't mean to pull anyone away from anything. It was just..." She sighed softly. "Earlier events deciding to revisit me in my sleep, in an unwanted manner." She shivered. "Seeing the time capsule that Iincho-san and I buried, in the other future... hit me really hard." She sighed. "Particularly a letter left in 2090. Especially combined with what her great-great-great-granddaughter said... In the other timeline at least... she held on clear until 2104, hoping to see me come back. Out of all the things I saw in 2135... that hurt the very worst." She shivered briefly and looked down. "So of course, that's right where the dream took me. Right back there, acting like this was the dream."

The voice that answered wasn't Negi's, or Sayo's, however. "A great-great-great-granddaughter? And _you_ got to see her? Too bad it wasn't known you'd come right back to here, or I'm sure the 2090 me would have tossed a camera and batteries in the time capsule, to get a picture of it." Ayaka leaned up against the door, smiling at least some in Asuna's direction. "To think I could hold out that long for you, though... The other me should have remembered your sleeping habits and figured you'd sleep in, anyway."

"It was disturbing, actually. She could have been your twin. She looked and sounded exactly the same..." Asuna smiled just a little. "She was very nice about taking the time to help me, when I would have been totally lost otherwise." She shifted in her seat a bit. "Still, between seeing that, looking at the time capsule, and looking at Mahora in the future... it really drove home how far out of place I was. Stay there and be haunted by the memories of everyone I love, or go back to the magic world and know that no one cared to check if I woke up. They would probably have been glad if I'd slept forever." She looked briefly down at the floor. "All of that on top of remembering how everyone was calling my name and crying. I nearly broke down even before leaving. A hundred thirty years, another perspective, and a whole lot of far more clear memories from before I came to Japan didn't help. Finally finding happiness, only to have it end by hurting others. Seeing Negi's gravestone hurt a lot as well..." She ruffled Negi's hair, as he looked up at her, listening quietly, but with his mouth open just a little in shock at the new revelations. "I wasn't even sure I wanted to exist anymore. I literally broke down and bawled in the rain, with the scattered memories from the time capsule around me. That was where the other Eva and Chao found me..."

Negi looked back down at the floor from the hair ruffling even, at that statement. It took him a moment to realize the meaning of all that Asuna had just said. His expression was close to mortified, his eyes filled with tears, cheeks burning in shame. His plan had done that. He had saved the magic world, but at the cost of everything his father and Ala Rubra had tried so hard to do for her. His voice cracked as he tried to speak. "I... I'm sorry, Asuna-san... This is all my fault... I should have found some other way... Instead... I failed, and hurt you. Even after all I found out of how badly you had been hurt before, I wound up doing it again..." He looked back down and the tears fell. Between that and the guilt and mortification, he almost looked like a little kid just realizing he'd done something bad and lost his favorite puppy forever for it. Asuna didn't hesitate for a moment, responding by pulling him onto her lap and ruffling his hair again.

Sayo, from where she stood, gave both of them a worried look.

Ayaka made a brief hiss of protest at the lap pull and ruffling, but shook it off a moment later, considering the words that had been said, and shaking her head at both of them. "Could have been my twin, hm? Very interesting..." She almost smiled for a moment, then noticed Negi's expression, sighing at his emotional state. "What Chao said on the roof of the main building was very accurate, honestly. Of those who knew and/or found out, I was already upset about it, at least, I'm certain others were as well..." She frowned. "Do you remember the original reason Ala Alba formed? According to Chisame-san, it failed utterly on its main intention."

Asuna sighed as she stroked Negi's hair idly, thinking on what both of them had said, and looking down softly. "Stop blaming yourself... Maybe there was another solution, maybe there wasn't. But they had to be stopped. Killing those people, even if some of them were just sentient illusions, wasn't the right course of action. They were going to shatter an entire world, and cost billions of people. And it wouldn't have stopped if you hadn't had the solution. I'm not sure how long we would have lasted even if I had woke up before that point." She glanced to Ayaka and flinched slightly then. "Y-yeah. I guess it did. I'm the one who really should take responsibility for that... I failed as leader and field commander to uphold our original intent, by letting myself get pulled to the other side. Now with its main purpose failed, it may dissolve anyway. Maybe Eva was right, and I shouldn't have been the leader..." She thought a moment. "But... it might not be over yet."

Negi blinked at Ayaka, and at Asuna's response to her, looking between the two for a few moments. "Uwah-? With all the problems, we didn't find anything about my father, but..."

Asuna bonked him on the head then. "Baka. Not that part. The other part of the original goal. The part where everyone involved was worried that once you went over to the magic world, you might never come back? Part of why Ala Alba existed, a _significant_ part, was to make sure that you came back with us to Mahora, back to the day to day life as teacher and students. Rather than _losing_ you to it. But it failed at that utterly. And but for a miracle, it would have lost _both_ of us to there." She looked at Negi intently, leaning around to look him in the eyes. "That's part of the final strings that could unravel everything I hoped for in coming back, as well. I came back to stay with everyone." She looked to Ayaka. "If a few of us signed on to keep going, I'm betting others would fall in line with us as well..." She looked to Negi then. "But that has one big if to it. It hinges on you. I came back, you didn't lose me. And there may be a chance to fix everything, now. I highly suggest that you and Fate both start talking very seriously to Chao. If the plans to make Mars habitable can be accelerated significantly, she and Satomi-san are the ones who'll be able to do it. As the one with the future tech, and the one who has some understanding of said tech currently. Accelerating the project and using Mahora for a base of operations might just leave you able to stay on as well, without causing problems with certain others. We might have to visit there regularly, and handle whatever comes up, but we can do that when classes aren't running. And if we're lucky, be able to recover at Eva's, with enough time to get any studying or paper grading done, and get enough sleep. If she'll let us."

Sayo listened quietly to the outlined plan, considering the plan as a whole. "That... could work." She murmured. "It's iffy in some spots, though... If any part of it falls through, it could fail in a manner that would provoke Fate on the school grounds. That could be very dangerous for all the students on campus... But if Chao-san is able to move the project ahead, either with technology from her own time, or some of her own designs, I would hope he would not object. And if he stays as teaching assistant, it would be covered on all angles. As far as staying on for high school... I'll talk to Asakura-san about it, but since she can't write her book about what happened in the magic world yet, I don't see why she wouldn't stay on. I'll of course stay..." She considered for a moment. "But... Kagurazaka-san? Why did you not tell us about what was going to happen? Did you think we wouldn't notice? I'm sure everyone in Ala Alba especially would have noticed it eventually."

Ayaka nodded a little at Sayo's words. "I will certainly stay on as well. If Chao is willing, the plan is sound. I'm actually rather surprised at how sound it is, even with the risks." She gave a brief grin. "_You_ of all people coming up with a workable plan, within a few hours of knowing it would be needed? Must be your better half working overtime." She snickered, then pondered Sayo's question. "She's right though. As much as it fits you, it was rather rude and tactless not to tell the others and never say goodbye. Especially Setsuna-san, whom I've heard had to find out second hand initially?" She shook her head in her most aristocratic manner, and looked to Asuna. "I'm sure you don't want anyone staying on simply out of knowing that and having you back, however."

Asuna listened quietly, sighing at Sayo's question. "I... thought I could just have them say I'd moved away, or told the others after. I didn't want to deal with everyone being totally depressed about it, like the ones who knew or found out all were. I'm not sure I could have handled that from everyone. Enough people cried on the roof as I was leaving. It hurt a lot, if I hadn't been trying to put on a brave face I might have broke down before even leaving. With more people up there, I probably would have." She looked down towards the ground, then to Ayaka, nodding just a little bit. "I had a goodbye message ready to be given to them after I left. Just that the time jump back came right to the moment I left, so I was just 'out for today', and will be back in class tomorrow." She smiled then. "And you understand perfectly, Iincho. I absolutely don't want that kind of pity. If the plan works, and we keep Negi, I'm betting that a whole lot of them will stay, if not all."

Negi thought a little longer, and blinked up at Asuna from the lap then, considering it. "You've thought about this quite a bit, haven't you, Asuna-san..." He shook his head slightly then. "I-it would require a good deal of discussion with Chao-san and Fate... Even if it is moved ahead more quickly than intended, there is still going to be a lot of work..." He tried to think about all the dizzying amount of potential trouble, then a thought occurred to him. "It... did work in the future you came back from, though... So..." He shook his head then. "But still, I can't... promise anything like that. I admit, Chisame-san has a definite point... I really did let everyone down on that count... I'll talk to them. Maybe..." He straightened his hair with his hands then, and moved to hop off Asuna's lap. "Will you be okay if I go to see about setting up that discussion?"

"I'll be okay for now, as long as you come back later tonight. Konoka should be around later as well." Asuna nodded slowly as she answered. "I got all my paperwork done and away from the waterworks the dream caused, so I'll be turning that in when I head for class." She sighed then. "I didn't get the paper route back, they're still trying out the new carrier. But if they don't do well, or another route opens up, I might be allowed to return to it." She relaxed more than she had, then. "Thank you, everyone..." She smiled weakly to all of them. "For coming to check. I shudder to think what horrible things that nightmare might have said or implied if it kept going. So thank you, Sayo, for getting Negi. And thanks for coming along for it with him, Iincho. Sorry I was so on edge this morning. Now you know why." She ruffled Negi's hair. "And you, thanks for coming. That nightmare was so horrible... it felt so real... to the point of making me think I'd only dreamed about coming back here. Makes me glad I woke up here with you all, rather than it just being a dreamed up fantasy away from that place."

"I do hope this plan works. Keeping Negi-sensei here with us, rather than losing him to the project, is important to a lot of people. I might get to see him still as one of the major backers, but still... not like it was before. If this saves that, I may actually have to credit you with a good idea. But then, what's that saying they have elsewhere in the world, sensei? Something about giving a million monkeys a million typewriters, and ending up with something brilliant on random chance?" Ayaka smiled just a little at Asuna, quite teasingly. "Even our monkey can do it." She stood then. "if everything is okay, I should probably head out as well."

"I should probably find Kazumi... she's probably wondering where I am." Sayo mused. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Asuna-san. And I hope this plan works as well." She smiled and waved, letting Ayaka leave first, before stepping out herself.

Negi, slipped for the door then as well. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Asuna-san. Though I do have a bit to do." He closed the door behind him, as he left.

* * *

_It's funny..._ Asuna thought. _It's the things you never thought you'd miss, that really do seem to be missed the most. Even if it isn't 'proper'._ She was going to bed for real now, Negi and Konoka having come back. Rather than dumping Negi onto his futon though, she hopped down and carried him up to her bunk with her, settling him so she could hold him in the usual spot they woke up together in. And made sure to use a t-shirt rather than a pajama top, so it wouldn't get opened. He had objected at first, but she shushed him softly. "Just be happy, please?" She had told him at the time. "I'd rather have you close at hand tonight. It'll keep that nightmare away. We almost lost this..." She smiled to herself. That had been a little while ago, now it was all settled in. She leaned her head against Negi's lightly, closing her eyes. And drifted off to sleep, almost as quickly as he did.

The nightmare did not come back that night. She slept very peacefully, almost smiling even as she did. Dreaming of Mahora, and changing dorms for high school. Her home. Where all her new family was, where she was happy, where she wanted to be. Just one last plan to work, and she'd have her miracle and then some. 3A kept whole. Maybe it couldn't last forever. But it could last at least a few more years. And who knew, Mahora had higher level education as well, maybe they could get together when they weren't in classes still, then. But that could be figured out later. For now, she just slept on, content.


	6. A Bright and Busy Day

_A/N: As always, betaed by VvoltronSV. Now also previwed by the TV Tropes Negima fanfiction thread. All thanks to both for putting up with me. Also, I'm VERY sorry this chapter is late. :( Also, this chapter was going to be longer, but because of the length by mid-lunch hour, will be continued in chapter 7 as "Afternoon Matinee".  
_

_If you need a reference on the hair style mentioned in the chapter, it's the hairstyle from the flashbacks and from after the capture during the Mundus Magicus arc, with the bells tied to the outside ends._

* * *

"A Bright and Busy Day" (the morning after "The Long Night", 353)

When morning came, Asuna was still sleeping peacefully, neither her nor Negi having moved an inch since they settled onto the bunk. She only woke up reluctantly, the other three room occupants waking up far more quickly. Chamo woke up from his little nest of panties and looked around quickly as the others got out of bed, glancing up at Negi leaving Asuna's bunk and laughing. "First girl wins, eh bro?"

Negi blinked at that and blushed a little bit. "I... well, that is..." he shook his head.

And Asuna woke up fully, growling very softly as she heard the ermine teasing about the sleeping arrangements. Even if she smiled for a moment where Chamo couldn't see her. She had her scowl back in place when she looked down from the bunk and started getting out. "Last night was perfectly innocent, you little lech. Stop reading perverted things into it, even if you're a perv by nature. Having him there ended the nightmares. That was all." She hopped down from the bunk and towered over Chamo, in implication. "Got that?"

Chamo laughed and raised his arms a little in mock surrender. "Okay! Don't do anything rash nee-san... I'm glad you came back..."

Konoka laughed from her own bed as she got up from it, glancing over to the two. "Hmm..." She grinned at the other three. "Well, if he gets too bad, I'm sure ermine scarf or collar would look great on new formal clothes for the formal functions the Princess will likely be dragged into going along to with Negi in the future. Right, Asuna?" She laughed a little more and shook her head. "Anyway, I'll get breakfast on."

Chamo openly sweatdropped at Konoka's joke, even as Negi blinked at her and tried not to laugh. Asuna, for her part, snorted at being referred to as the Princess, but grinned just a little menacingly in Chamo's direction after. "An ermine scarf or collar, hmm? Yes, that might be good for an ultra-formal look..." She snickered softly, grabbing her pactio card from her dresser. "And I have the perfect knife to get the pelt off with..." She dropped the act then, shaking her head and getting a clean uniform out.

The three never took long to get into their clothes, though Konoka watched the food even as she dressed, taking longer. Once Asuna got dressed, she idly grabbed her hair bells, then thought a moment, laughing to herself. She grabbed two longer hair ties then, starting to tie her hair outward further. _Old and new together, _she thought, and smiled. _I'll see how they react to it, and go from there._ With that, she tied the twin tails the way she had when she was much younger, so the hair dropped from the ties three or so inches from her head. Once she had that done on both sides, she tied the bells up to the outside ends of the ties. She checked the net effect in the mirror then, laughing at herself. _Perfect..._

As she looked back from doing her hair, and walked out into the main area, she smelled the wonderful aroma of Konoka's breakfast cooking. "I still can't imagine what I'd do without you here to cook, Konoka. I'd probably have to go to one of those horrible on campus places. I've never looked, are Satsuki or any of the others serving breakfast before classes at Chao Bao Zi?"

Konoka laughed a little bit at that. "I think they might be. But their breakfasts aren't as good always as the meat buns. So..." She grinned. "I don't know what you'd do either sometimes. After that one time you tried cooking yourself, and nearly burned the dorm down, after all... I can imagine you were pretty hungry when you woke up the second time yesterday, well away from breakfast." She blinked up at Asuna's hair then. "Ooooh. Changing hairstyles? Neat." She started to dish up the food then.

Negi blinked over at Asuna's hair then, blinking a little as he looked at it. He cocked his head a little bit. "Hmm. Trying to use both styles at once, Asuna-san? Looks very cute..."

Asuna blushed slightly as she settled in to eat. "Well, it's not like I _meant to..." _She grinned a little then._ "_And... I thought I'd try it at least. Honestly, it feels more normal in some ways now having it tied out this way. Aftereffect of the memory and personality merge I'm guessing. This adjustment satisfies both parts, so unless it's not liked, I may go with it." She smiled, and started eating, not in a huge rush, but quickly enough. "Got all the paperwork done before I fell off into that nightmare last night, I should be turning it in before class starts if I'm going to go back to it."

"I thought you had your graduation already?" Konoka grinned. "Glad you're coming back to class with us though. It wouldn't be the same without. It was so quiet yesterday... part of it was shock from the morning, yes, but not all of it. It was a lonely classroom without you and Ayaka getting into it, or anything else normal like that." She laughed and shook her head. "Lots of studying to do, then the official final tests, so... hope you remember everything after the stuff that happened."

"Yeah... that's the one disadvantage to coming back to the same instant." Asuna laughed and sipped her juice. "Still, I'd rather do badly at the tests, than wait and have it go bad before I could fix it." The smile faded at the thought, but she shook it off and it returned soon enough. "And depending on what happens, well, I studied and took it once, so they might not take the second results. Especially if the test is too similar."

That drew a blink and nod from Negi. "I hadn't thought of that, but yes, that's very true. You're probably disqualified from being graded again. Still, you passed and did better than anyone expected, the first time. So it isn't a real concern." He offered that innocent smile then, that only worked on a 10 year old. "Still, you could be helping others with their own studying, if you were up to it..." He blinked then. "Oh! I should probably mention about the graduation trip to you. Iincho mentioned it in class once, but just to make sure you heard... The trip destination had to be changed. The hotel she was calling when you came back was for the backup plan, which now seems to be needed. A tropical storm took an unexpected turn, the villa in India is now likely to be hit..."

Konoka quickly nodded at the announcement from Negi, glancing to him and Asuna. "Yep. Was looking forward to seeing India, but... oh well." She smiled brightly then. "Asides, we'll get a chance to see how well you've taught us, going to Hawaii like we are now. It'll be fun!" She quickly continued eating. "Still, will be interesting. Means island to island shuffling with the jet, rather than just going to one place. Lots to see, but so spread out..."

Asuna blinked a little bit and raised her eyebrows at the discussion, blinking at both of them. "Hawaii huh? Interesting. Iincho is right though, probably best not to go to India when that's going on." She smiled. "And... hmm, yeah. There _is_ a lot to see there. Any idea of scheduling and such? Depending on how it's done, I'd think she'd be calling two hotels anyway, one for Honolulu and one for the big island."

Negi nodded at that, smiling a little more. "Indeed... She called the second hotel to confirm arrangements later on yesterday. We'll be spending three days at each hotel, then will be coming back..." His face sank a little then. "For what was to be a final farewell party, to say goodbye as the class broke up." He looked up then. "But... your plan may fix that. I spoke to Chao and Fate last night, to discuss acceleration of the plan. Since there really wasn't enough time originally, the idea of using advanced technology to ensure that there is enough is definitely a point in favor of it. Though, I'm wondering if Fate actually knows what is being angled towards, particularly since it was brought up after mentioning that she brought you back from the future. He didn't react much to that, since Chao was there as confirmation..."

"Hmm... But he didn't say anything about objecting to it. Still, hopefully he wasn't implying it." Konoka started cleaning her plates up, since she was finished with her food by then. "Using Mahora as a central location for the project makes sense, I'd think. Since there's knowledge of the situation here, as well as the advanced tech research facilities from the college level campus and higher level high school ones. Along with a working gate to move between. On top of that, if Asuna is staying here, it becomes more significant still. Since the whole Ostia royal family in exile would be here. Still, more time to discuss that stuff later... Need to think about studying and upcoming tests now."

A distinct frown crossed Asuna's features as the news that Fate might already be realizing what they intended, and figuring on ways to prevent it. "Well, the best we can do is talk to Chao. If she has enough ideas to accelerate it, there shouldn't be any reasonable objection to using Mahora as the base of operations. Or letting you teach while doing so." She nodded as she listened to Konoka's evaluation of it, making a face at the final observation on it. "Yeah... Not really thinking about the whole 'Ostia royal family in exile' thing at the moment... I'd almost rather think about the studying." She made a face at the word, shivering. Then she looked to Negi. "Oh, and since you just _know_ some clown is going to ask, do not approve of yakyuken or anything similar for the study session this time, thanks. I plan on helping them study, but I _really_ would rather not get involved in something like that again. Especially since I get stripped first!" She stacked her dishes, getting ready to take them to the sink.

Konoka dissolved into giggles as Asuna brought that up, remembering the time it was done, and the times later when students tried to get it again. She shook her head lightly then, grinning at Negi.

For his own part, Negi nodded at Asuna's statement, especially her evaluation of what Konoka had said. Then... he blushed like a beet as Asuna reminded him of that, mouth dropping open slightly for a moment. "I... yes, I do realize what that is now, and will try to discourage any of the girls from attempting it. Though I'm not certain how successful it will be. Some of them can be quite insistent after all. And still ignore me in class. Maybe I should let Fate handle the sessions... he keeps order in the classroom much better than I do..." He started picking up his own dishes then.

Asuna shook her head then. "He also isn't understanding enough to be willing to adjust explanations of material that some of the students aren't getting. When it's not being understood by a few students, the teacher needs to be flexible enough to explain from another angle that the students might understand better. I know I've needed that a lot of times in a lot of classes. Including yours. And when Fate was teaching the class instead, well, he just gave a 'look' to the ones not getting it, and kept going. At least that I've seen. Basically expecting them to sink or swim of their own merit. I'm sure Nitta probably acts that way as well, but... well, you're a better teacher than Nitta or him, for that."

Negi blushed a little, even as Konoka nodded. "She's got a point, Negi. It is better for the students that way. Means they learn more and do better on the tests." She picked up the stacked dishes quickly, and whisked them off to the sink to soak, grabbing the school bag next to her uniform. "We should get to class, at any rate..." She smiled.

The others picked up their bags then, and the three headed out, running at their usual clip to get to the classroom, after so much discussion was had at breakfast.

* * *

The class was in their usual state when the three got to the room, a veritable cacophony of chatting girls, as the members of class 3A talked about anything and everything. Kazumi and Sayo in particular were chatting with a few others, Kazumi taking notes about all of it. That brought a smile to Asuna as she stepped in after Negi and Konoka, heading for her seat quickly to settle in. She didn't initially notice it, but several voices quieted down as she arrived. It wasn't her return to class, the ones who'd been on the roof knew she intended to come to class. Setsuna was one of the first to blink. She was silent already of course, but she looked up at Asuna curiously. As did one or two others. Chisame narrowed her eyes at the sight, keeping her silence. Eva wasn't, but she did smirk very slightly.

By the time Asuna was seated and settled in, the ones who'd noticed had mentioned it to ones who hadn't, and there was a brief whispering in the room, which then broke back out into another discussion. Which she was hearing parts of as she settled in, blushing as she did. "What? Something suddenly interesting about me being here?" _Other than me being here at all. _But she didn't say that, just continuing to blush.

Ayaka smirked at her, walking right up and looking over her head interestedly. "I'm certain they're just noticing your hair, monkey." She snickered a little, making a quick move to get herself closer to behind Asuna, reaching out in a teasing manner to snatch the hair ties. "Nice of you to add grab handles along with the bells. Still, you changed your hair a little, after all these years here that's a shock." She grinned as Asuna yanked her head away, shaking it slightly and laughing even while blushing harder.

"Figured it might be time. Not sure I'm keeping it, but it kinda feels normal now." Asuna shrugged and smiled, speaking quietly. "It was like tied out like that a long time before it was only the bells..." She trailed off. "Anyway, shouldn't you be in your seat?" She gestured up to Negi in front of the class, checking papers, then smiled a little more. "Or working on the big plan with the other students?"

A more serious smile and a nod then. "I have already been speaking to some of them, actually. Plenty are interested in going on as things are. Especially if the plan to keep Negi works. There were one or two mentioning study overseas however..." She frowned then. "They may not be convinced without the second part of the plan working."

Asuna nodded quickly then and sighed. "I heard about that. Satsuki and Yue both mentioned overseas study..." she frowned. "Still, should be through high school at least in Satsuki's case first, so that might sway her... but Yue..." She pondered. "If we had an exchange program we could get her friends over here, but..." She sighed. "Not sure how well that would work. I'd hate for it to be imposing on her..."

In the front of the classroom, Negi cleared his throat and looked out towards the class at large, causing everyone to perk back up and bow properly to him as Sensei. He smiled very softly at the sight, relaxing at being in his normal job again for the moment. And realized again how much he would miss it if he had to leave. Asuna had him pegged on that count, and he knew it. "Good to see everyone here." He smiled, adjusting his glasses slightly. "Today we will be beginning our review for the final exams." He looked out at all of them, remembering what Asuna had said during breakfast and almost laughing as he paused. "And before someone suggests it, I was reminded this morning of previous study sessions. And yakyuken is not going to be considered acceptable as a studying practice."

Several people deflated at the news of that, obviously having been intending to be the first to bounce up and suggest it. Asuna and her fellow Baka Rangers started laughing at the deflation, peering around at the ones who were deflating and shaking their heads just a little bit, before looking back up to Negi. She smiled just a little bit, remembering the other part of that story, and glancing at a few others. "And we're not going to the sub-basement of Library Island this time either." The ones who were involved in that, including Negi, laughed.

Negi shook his head slightly after laughing, glancing to Asuna. "Ah... yes. Glad you remembered that. I would rather not spend three days lost down there in my pajamas again." That bit caused the class to dissolve into laughs again, especially the ones who'd been there. The jokes quieted down from there, though, and Negi began going through the review material in earnest. The students for the most part noticed the shift to complete seriousness, and the notes and work began, with only a few stops for clarification when one student or another asked a question on the material.

Asuna took notes quickly, even if she'd already taken it, in case one of the others needed better notes by chance. When there was a pause for explanation, she pulled out a small notepad, thinking of the things she should probably look to in the near future, a few notes being jotted down on that as well. She smiled in the directions of Sayo and Eva as she did, them being on the list in nice high spots for things she hoped to accomplish. The top listing, however, was still keeping Negi and the class together. Not her project alone at this point, but one she was most concerned about above the others.

Still, the list was short enough that she was satisfied that aside from the things that were 'long term'', it would be good for the moment. And there was little time to expand on the listings, with the notes needing to be taken. She kept writing as the review session continued, the time between the start and the lunch break seeming to slide past very quickly.

* * *

When the lunch break came, Asuna stretched in her seat and looked around quickly, smiling just a little. She wasn't planning on heading right to lunch, not right away at least. She hopped up out of her seat and headed for the main office, careful not to hurry too much. She didn't want to bump into anyone too badly in the hallways. Even if she was wanting to get her paperwork issues sorted and handled quickly, so she could get some food eaten before study session started again.

The main office was of course very busy during the lunch hour. She was far and away not the only one in the droves of Mahora students needing to stop for some reason or another. As such, the swarm of students and teachers increased as she approached the hallway with the office. She tried to keep aware of her surroundings, but some of the shorter ones escaped her notice initially.

Which is why she didn't notice one particular person she would much rather have avoided in any setting. At least, she didn't notice him until he was close enough to have seen her. Fate Averruncus was still the 'assistant teacher' for Negi, since he had been planning to ensure that Negi put all his time into fixing the issue with the Magic World once the semester had ended, and drop his aspirations at being a teacher or a Magister Magi, in favor of it. The plan which she was now working to derail, by speeding up the process of fixing said issue. Her first awareness of him came when he gave her a sharp look from far too close, acknowledging her with his usual lack of emotion or inflection. "Princess."

The title, and the voice which said it, nearly drew a hiss from Asuna as she heard it. She whirled around, finding him far too close for comfort as he stood there, watching her in what, to her, appeared a less than amused manner. She narrowed her eyes to the point the heterochromia could barely be noticed, as she looked him over, trying to appear disinterested. "Fate-_sensei_..." She let the sarcasm drip slightly on the last part, though she dropped it after. And thinking about the situation, even smiled. "Interesting conversations with Chao as yet?"

"Chao and Negi both. And I will be speaking with them later as well. Do not think, however, that I fail to realize the ultimate goal of your 'grand plan'. You came back from the future to stay with your classmates. And the only way some of them are likely to stay is if Negi stays as well." Fate simply looked at her, with his lack of expression. "Since it has been proven that the plan can be successful, some things requiring cooperation between individual nations of Mundus Magicus may prove easier than previously considered. The time table is still, however, critical. Bringing advanced technology and equipment designs from the future is under discussion, that could help matters if workable. Still..."

"... Still, a lot of it will still need Negi to be available to handle some things on some fronts. As well as potentially myself." Asuna finished. "I realize all that, in fact. That is why the 'grand plan' is not an attempt to take him back entirely. Since there is a functioning gate here at the academy, however, it becomes possible to use the campus as a point to base the operation from. Other aspects will still likely need further discussion with others, though. If Chao can get the equipment designs here..." She took a slight breath. "Even if she cannot be here always herself, between Hakase and likely activation of some of the Chacha models being worked on, it should not be that difficult to get the equipment built within a reasonable time. And once ready, merely require the approval to send to Mars and activate. Bringing the 'impossible' timetable back to workable. And if the plan goes as intended, with more of the equipment built, it becomes more workable, and less time consuming. The goal at start is to balance the time he is needed there, with the time needed to stay on at least as a part time teacher, for homeroom and English. With more teachers in high school, it should be easier to give him a light enough schedule to allow him to remain with Class 1-A, without significantly eating into any time you would need him. And by using Mahora as a base, you would be right here to make certain of that, as well." She looked over at Fate as she finished.

Fate listened to her entire spiel impassively, not having taken his eyes off her for a moment. His expression remained unchanged, though he blinked once as she finally wrapped up. "Interesting points. It hinges greatly on the discussions with Chao being successful, however. Even if she is, if anything falls behind, it would require a leave of absence at minimum to get it moving again. Too far off track, and it still would mean him being required to handle it full time. Your willingness to help keep it on track is noted, Chachamaru intends to assist with it either way. I must say, though, Princess, I am surprised somewhat. Less than twenty-four hours awake since being brought back from 2135, and you have already thought your plan through that far? Either your thinking has gotten quicker since the integration of personalities, or your improvisation skills have improved. Still, all of it is pointless at the moment, and remains so until final word that Chao is bringing said plans."

Asuna nodded just a little bit as she listened to the first part of that, shrugging slightly and almost smiling at the second, even as he called her 'Princess' again. The almost smile dropped, however, on the last comment. "Chao will come through. She is aware of what is going on. And most of the designs used will likely be hers, anyway. So the decision on whether to use them here would rest in her hands." She narrowed her eyes then. "I intend to look through every other avenue as well. Both for ways to speed the process, and for any kind of measure that would buy time for the full process to set in. It worked in the timeline I came back from, it will work here. It just needs to be sped up so it doesn't dominate people's entire lives." She shook her head slightly, then. "And kindly refrain from calling me 'Princess' while students are around? I'm sure if any of the staff hears it they'll ask as well. It will cause questions if someone outside of 3A hears it. They pretty much all know. But the masquerade doesn't come down for another decade, so the others can't be hearing about it. I'm sure you know that, though. At any rate... I came to the office to turn in the guest authorization form for Chao, and to turn in my revised application to continue on into high school next semester. And I have to stop by the security office to turn that form in, and eat lunch before I get back to class. May I be excused, as such, _sensei_?" She still didn't hide the sarcasm she said that term with.

"If there is nothing else to be said, then certainly. Good day, Princess." Fate nodded, and watched, as Asuna spun on a foot with the approval, and left the classroom. He watched the door for a moment after, before heading back to his official duties as Negi's assistant teacher.

* * *

Asuna breathed a sigh of relief once she left the classroom, heading quickly back to the main office area. Her mood after that little encounter wasn't quite as good as it was when she left the 3-A classroom, but she didn't want to let it get her too far down. In fact, she felt a little bit relieved almost. Fate's objections on hearing the 'real' version of her plan, rather than the one he'd probably figured was in the works, weren't as major as she'd expected them to be. Speeding up the process, after all, only would help matters in the long run. She closed her eyes a moment and tried to skip tracks back to the current matter at hand, looking down in her hands after. The forms. Right.

She headed for the main office quickly, glancing back and forth at the activity in the hallway. Her little confrontation hadn't lasted long, and the traffic hadn't abated. So she started wading through it, trying to be careful enough not to knock anyone too much smaller over, though with enough force to get through to where she needed to be. She offered a soft 'oops' whenever she bumped someone, if she even noticed it. She held her papers firmly, but careful not to wrinkle them if she could help it. She smiled a little at the thought. She doubted they would deny applications for not being neat, but well... How many did sign up for security, anyway? Especially among the students who were in the know about the more serious of the likely problems? Some might end up having to help in an emergency, but actually volunteering beforehand, she didn't know.

When she approached the main office area, she noticed one of the doors was open. She needed to drop one form to Konoemon directly, and his door was the open one, but she still paused for just a moment, to steady herself and be completely composed to talk to the dean. Her approach, however, had already been noticed. As soon as she paused for that, she heard Konoemon's voice from inside the door. "Ah, Asuna-chan. Come in." She practically jumped, then blushed.

After the blush, she did as requested. She recovered herself enough to try and stride in looking cool and confident. _Better than looking panicky and caught unaware, even if it can be seen through._ She almost laughed at her thought, as she looked to Konoemon, smiling warmly to him. "Principal-sensei..." She blinked as she saw Takahata in the room as well, and blushed again. "Takahata-sensei... Apologies if you were busy. I could easily come back..."

Konoemon shook his head and smiled, gesturing for her to close the door, which she obediently did. Takahata meanwhile smiled to her and shrugged slightly. "I just saw you coming towards the office a bit ago, and was in here to let the principal know you were headed here, but got... sidetracked. You make out okay with that?" He looked over her with some concern. Her history with Fate was never good, and she still didn't like him. Takahata knew that very well.

Asuna shook her head slightly and smiled. "It... went better than I expected it to, honestly. I was worried he'd try to cut my grand plan off completely on assuming he'd figured it out entirely, but he didn't. And with the explanation I gave... it might still at least mostly come through." She smiled, then sighed a little, thinking further. "Though it requires some adjustment all around, admittedly. I shouldn't even be trying to implement it before talking with both of you. I'm... trying to at least partially be able to keep Negi. There are people that I'm almost certain won't come back after middle school, if he isn't around... Ayaka and Sayo are trying to convince everyone they can to stay, but..." She looked down at the ground. "Ayaka pointed out to me what Chisame mentioned a while back. I had almost forgotten with everything that happened, but it struck home once it was brought up again. Half the reason at least that people signed on for Ala Alba was to make sure Negi came back after going across to search for his father. And... on that count..." She shivered. "Until yesterday, it was a certain total failure, and doubly so from losing both him and I to it completely. And never seeing me again besides..." She almost shivered again, but held it. "But now, there's a chance it doesn't have to fail. Negi and Fate are talking to Chao, and from the implication, she may be able to bring back some of her design plans for things needed to get the Mars project sped up significantly. If it can be sped up, it won't require all of Negi's time. The idea is to combine that idea with using Mahora as a base of operations, effectively, where he could be unless things hit a snag. That way he could still teach. If he can be moved to the high school, it should be easy to limit the number of classes he's teaching for, so that he'd be able to do homeroom for 1-A and English for that and maybe a couple other classes. Then he'd still have time to be working on the project when he isn't having a class to teach."

"Hmm... Overall, if Chao can come through in that manner, it would sound as though the bases are all covered." Konoemon nodded. "I believe he is qualified to teach at high school level. It's not surprising considering the circumstances that you would be trying for this. As it stands, trying to get him back as a full time teacher would be impossible, after all." He considered it just a bit. "Using Mahora as the base of operations for the project is an interesting idea. I assume you're speaking of using one of the unused buildings on the outer periphery to quietly house it and cover it as a university project?"

"Er... I hadn't thought about it quite _that_ far, I admit... The whole plan only really came together yesterday evening, after I woke up from what was probably the least restful sleep I've ever had..." Asuna's cheeks reddened just slightly as she realized just how big of an oversight that might have been. "I'm glad both Iincho and Sayo were there when Negi woke me up, for that. I admit, I probably launched the idea a little sooner than I should have, but in order to get everyone back, I had to start it before graduation, so that anyone who'd mentioned or been planning to leave would be able to hear about how many others were staying, and reconsider. If too many are lost, the plan effectively fails even if Negi stays. If they hear he's staying beforehand, though..."

Takahata listened quietly, nodding at the discussion. "If they heard he was staying, a lot more of them would likely stick around to stay with him, rather than going off elsewhere. And keeping Ala Alba together at Mahora would certainly be good on a lot of levels. We can't exactly ask students to be handling problems, but... well, considering what you and they have done already..." He paused then, looking to Asuna more as a concerned adoptive parent than a teacher, then. "Your least restful sleep ever? Only one day with both sets of memories re-integrated, and the nightmares are coming already?" He frowned at the thought.

"I'll talk to them to make sure, but I'm fairly certain that most of the current Ala Alba crew would be willing to help with whatever problems need handling on that level. I'm also going to be discussing with Negi the idea of expanding the roster, there are a few people who know since the final battle, and have shown interest in training further and possibly joining. Now that I'm not vanishing, and there's a shot at keeping it together... It should in theory be possible to handle that, hopefully in Eva's resort, if allowed, and if there's the time for him to train them..." Asuna smiled just a little for a moment. "Of course, I'm absolutely willing to help handle problems. And to that end..." She handed over the security application to Konoemon. "Form one, the application for Mahora Security. And since I'll be staying for that..." She handed over the forms for re-application to school and for her guest as well. "I should make sure my application for next semester is in, so I can tell the others so, when asking them to stay." She paused then and frowned, sighing softly as she looked to Takahata. When she spoke again, her tone was far more serious. "Yeah, a brand new one. Thought up entirely by what I saw earlier in my second part of 'yesterday', before I came back from 2135." She shook her head. "I'd rather not go into details, but well... it was a very personal hell, especially finding the time capsule Iincho and I buried, and a letter in it. If I just hadn't woke up 30 years late..." She trailed off. "At any rate... Yeah. But hopefully only the one time, so I'm not going to worry about it. And the project had worked there, so that's at least a good thing. I mainly came to drop off those forms. Sorry I didn't get them in for last night, I closed my eyes for one moment at my desk, and well, that's when the other thing started."

Konoemon blinked and listened quietly, nodding at several points, and taking the forms. He listened to what was said of 2135, and winced slightly, but stayed quiet. Takahata on the other hand, flinched hard at hearing about the dream, looking down at the ground some. "Sorry to hear about the dream. You seem to have bounced back from it quickly enough, though. You could always tell me about it later, if you need to talk to someone..." He trailed off, and looked to her. "I really am glad you came back. It really did hurt to watch you leave, thinking it was for the last time. Between the memory block being undone and all the things that happened to you in the magic world, then this... And after I promised the others I'd try to make sure you'd have a happy life finally, away from all of it... I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, you don't need to be sorry." Asuna shook her head quickly. "Even if it felt like there was little other choice, I did choose to go into the sealing. And as for the rest... it couldn't have been predicted the way it was. None of it could. I pretty much forced the truth out of Negi initially, that's how I got involved again. And the memory block was coming undone even before that, bits and pieces were coming back in my dreams, and I'd been wondering what they were." Her expression hardened a moment and she scowled slightly. "At least until a certain someone suckered Negi into giving me something that strengthened the block. Ever since, I'm not accepting anything to drink from either of them, unless I saw them pour it and know what it is. Had it come undone sooner, I might have been able to avoid being captured. And it wouldn't have been used to knock me into catatonia for a week while a prisoner." She shook her had and relaxed again. "But that isn't for you to worry about, just something for me to hold over Negi and Rakan." She smiled just a touch. "Anyway, again. Please don't be sorry? You did everything you could. And even if not always away from all of it, my life has been happy. Now that I've come back, it still is and hopefully will be. You didn't fail..." She sighed and stretched out then. "At any rate... with the forms dropped off, I should probably go get lunch. I'm staying in class in hopes of keeping yesterday quiet. Not sure it'll work with everyone, though. So I should get back to it."

Takahata smiled just a little bit then, nodding to Asuna. "Thank you, Asuna-chan. I'm glad it all worked out. Have a good lunch." Konoemon nodded, smiling just a little at how things wound down. "Later then, Asuna-hime."

Asuna smiled to both of them, and slipped out, hurrying just a bit to go get her food before the lunch hour was over, checking her food ticket count along the way.


	7. Afternoon Matinee

_AN: Another one taking more than a month, I know and apologize profusely. It's a little shorter than chapter 6, but if I tried to start the next scene, it would have taken far longer. It also would have inflated the chapter size immensely. So that will be in Chapter 8. As always, beta'ed by VVoltronSV, and the All Purpose Negima Fanfiction Thread on TV Tropes._

* * *

"Afternoon Matinee" (continuation of "Bright and Busy Day", 353)

Asuna slowed down once she was approaching the food court area. She headed to get her usual lunch, smiling just a little at the prospects of it. _Another thing I would have missed, right there._ She shook her head slightly at her own thought, getting through the lunch line quickly, and glancing around at the tables to see what was available, and who was sitting where.

The lunch area was busy as usual, with a whole mass of students. There was one empty two person table, in a semi-private area, which she smiled at and headed for. She glanced around to see where anyone else might be sitting, but didn't see too many from her class. She glanced at the clock a little worriedly. She still had plenty of time to eat, so that wasn't a problem. She hoped she hadn't missed something, though, that the class was doing. It was a troubling thought. If the class was doing something she'd have a better chance of talking to more of them about staying.

She tried to shrug off the thought, though. She wanted to enjoy her lunch, and there was nothing she could do about it anyway if they had, the stop at the office had taken longer than she'd wanted due to the run-in with Fate. Which was another thing she really didn't want to think about during her lunch, so tried to push back out of her head for the moment. She relaxed, eating very quietly.

And totally unaware of who had entered after her. A pair of round glasses watched Asuna from beneath red hair, trademark scowl in place. And the mind behind the glasses and scowl was debating whether to approach. Something was up, she knew that for certain. And she wanted to know what... With the things happening before, and the suddenly shift starting with this morning... Hasegawa Chisame finally decided, and moved for the table. She slipped up quietly to avoid being noticed, until she set her plate down with a thunk. "So, Asuna... Care to let the uninformed in on what suddenly changed yesterday?"

Asuna blinked at Chisame, frowning just a little bit. "To which do you refer, exactly?" She sighed inwardly. _I'd hoped she wouldn't accost me this soon. Oh well._ "I mean, I had to miss class yesterday for various reasons, but... you should be used to that by now. I'm working on a way to limit it in the future..."

Chisame narrowed her eyes further at the response. "Yeah. That's why everyone really close to you was acting so down and out over the last few months, and wouldn't tell anyone else what was going on? And especially the last week or so..." She shook her head. "Then suddenly they all miss a couple hours of class, and you miss a day. Now they're all happy as a lark, and Iincho and Sayo are recruiting people to help convince more class members to stay on for high school, saying that you're doing so as well. _Something_ changed, and don't tell me it didn't. Now I'm even hearing that Chao has been seen on campus again! So I know something weird is up."

"I... can't really talk about most of it here, too public of a location. And I'd rather not have to skip lunch... I already was held up because I saw the wrong... person, in the hallway while heading to the office to handle some forms." Asuna smiled just a little then, looking over to Chisame. "Remember how you said you'd lost both Negi and I to events elsewhere, though? Yesterday was going to be the permanent loss, the last time anyone would see me. But..." She glanced around a little. "Chao happened, and there's a growing chance that you might not lose either of us entirely." She looked around to make sure the coast was clear. "Because of what was going to happen, I didn't want people to know about it. Even Setsuna had to find out second hand. Part of the plan to fix matters elsewhere..." She trailed off.

"So you were going to vanish without telling anyone, and just have a little goodbye after and hope it satisfied people who'd never see you again?!" Chisame's scowl deepened, and she leaned her head slightly, light glinting off her glasses and hiding her eyes. "Classy, really classy. Now you say we aren't losing you, and might not even lose Negi entirely? What the hell... Bigger change than I thought. And don't think I didn't notice the change in hairstyle."

Asuna sighed very softly then, trying to get at least some eaten while Chisame spoke. "Look. When we're finished eating, we can go somewhere private and if you'll keep it to yourself, I'll tell you what happened. But right now? I wanna get some food down while I have a chance. And we still have to get back to study for tests afterward, remember..."

Chisame made a soft 'hmph' at Asuna in response, but nodded. "Fine..." She ate her food quickly then, as did Asuna, to finish up with time enough to get through it. Once both were finished, they dropped their trays, and looked for an empty room they could lock long enough for the discussion.

* * *

The explanation of what went on took several minutes, during which Chisame's expression seemed to turn more and more foul. Asuna sighed inwardly as she saw that, wondering how much she'd get it with both barrels once she was done. In hopes of avoiding too much wrath, she even mentioned the letter she saw in the time capsule of Chisame and Negi from the other timeline. Chisame's expression, however, didn't lighten. When Asuna's explanation of things was finished, Chisame stared at her for a moment or two. Then...

"What the hell is wrong with you, to agree with all that?! I know I said we were losing both of you, but I didn't think you'd take it to THAT kind of extreme! And on top of that you bring Chao Lingshen back after the Mahorafest incident, along with a copy of Evangeline!" Chisame's voice was at a volume that without the soundproofing, would probably be heard in the next three classrooms. "And you willingly trusted _them_ on the outside to make sure you woke up? They don't give a damn about you, that was proven! Hell, you're lucky someone didn't go in there and take you out to try using you for something else! And obviously they didn't give a damn if you woke up... An extra thirty years! Really! And obviously whatever I did wasn't enough! And to top it off, you hid all of this from nearly all of us, even making the two of your best friends who did find out, hear it second hand! This reminds me why I never wanted to get involved in all the weirdness. It makes all those close to it insane!"

Asuna winced just a bit as Chisame started in with her official tirade about the situation, shaking her head at points. She didn't look away though, as Chisame ranted about anything and everything. At the end, she sighed very softly. "Maybe there was another solution, maybe there wasn't. But the attempt to fix it had to happen immediately. At any rate, that was my yesterday morning. All hundred thirty years of it." She shook her head. "Still need to vent at me about it further? Or would you rather hear about what's been going on since yesterday afternoon? I can almost guarantee you'll feel better about Chao being here after."

Chisame hmph'ed. "I highly doubt that, Kagurazaka. It'd take something pretty damned spectacular. But I'd 'love' to hear what insanity you're trying to pull now, immediately after all that other stupid stuff you just did. And honestly, after all that I just mentioned, I somehow doubt you're going to be topping it this fast."

"It isn't stupid at all actually. Ayaka didn't think it was, Sayo didn't... even Takahata-sensei and Principal-sensei are in on it now. So just sit back, and listen to me explain what we've spoken to Chao about. And how it will affect Negi, the school, and the class. It's better than you think..." Asuna smiled then, launching into the explanation of her grand plan. Chisame listened to the explanation with an expression slightly less foul than before. Her expression calmed a bit as the explanation went on further, except for when Chao was mentioned. _That_ brought her nearly back to being as foul as before. The rest, however, calmed her back down to a point. Asuna went on to explain what had happened earlier in lunch hour, both with Fate and with Takahata and Konoemon.

"... And you came up with all this yourself, since last night? It shows in the if's. I'd planned to stay anyway, if I could while advising him. It isn't like we graduated high school or anything, like some people seem to act. It's middle school. Graduating it means you go on to high school then if you can, to higher education." Chisame grumbled, thinking about how many had planned on leaving. "This would make that a lot easier as well. For all the ifs, especially relying on Chao so much... It's semi-workable even. If, as you say, she's already on board with it." She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes again. "So, what do you plan on saying to anyone else who caught onto how suspicious yesterday and today are?"

Asuna paused as the question was asked, glancing down at the floor for a moment, then looking at Chisame again, more seriously. "I'm... not sure. Maybe I could just say a version of the truth as it stands..." She smiled a bit then. "I went to find a way to fix everything, and came back with a way to keep Negi and make sure everything is better." She glanced at the clock. "We should be getting back to class, though..."

Chisame hmphed slightly. "That still makes you utterly crazy for doing it. Even if it sounds better than what was intended." she shook her head and glanced to the clock, making a noise. "Damn, didn't realize we'd been talking that long..." She hurried for the door. "We're gonna be late if we don't hurry."

Asuna smiled, and hurried along behind, to head back for the afternoon session.

* * *

The class was almost ready to begin session again when Chisame and Asuna arrived. They quickly settled into their seats for post-meal attendance-taking, and study for some of the other classes with tests.

Asuna tried to keep up her notes diligently, writing and writing whenever the teachers said things. Negi was particularly good for English, as she'd mentioned that morning, for stopping and re-explaining if someone didn't understand. Some of the afternoon teachers weren't, and she was trying to keep good notes for anyone who hadn't. She'd planned to talk to those who were in the know about things after classes had ended, after all. And if it all went well, they might be able to do a little bit of training to keep in shape, and a lot of studying. Eva's would be perfect for that, if allowed. The other clubs would probably wish to meet before that, however...

So going to Eva's could be done during evening study. If the class studied as a whole, hopefully Negi or Hakase would be able to explain anything from the lectures that the teachers failed with. But it would require someone to have proper notes to do it with, for the classes he wasn't around for. He had work to be doing when he wasn't in class after all, especially now. And it seemed easier to take notes than it used to, especially with the worry about the test no longer there.

And when she wasn't taking notes on the subject matter, she was taking notes on other things. Reminding herself of who all had pactios now outside of the main Ala Alba group, for one, and what each of them did. And what use they might be in a situation. A few good new support staffers added to the group wouldn't hurt, if they were intending on keeping it together, after all. Though in that arena, she scribbled down one specific note to herself in relation to one specific pactio. _Keep nullification field up at all times when near Chizuru's artifact!_ She _almost_ laughed, thinking about it. _No need to use the leek on me, nope! It won't have any effect anyway. I'm making sure of that, to keep it out of my asshole._ She smiled to herself, shaking her head a little bit and glancing over in Chizuru's direction. It occurred to her then that one or two Ala Alba members didn't have pactios, and she made note to mention that to Negi as well, and discuss whether it might be an idea, at least in Sayo's case. Then she turned her attention back to her other notes, both for the team and for the classes. _I'll discuss that with him when we're not studying for tests, though. He needs to be helping them study._

After two afternoon class periods with other teachers, it was finally time for study hall. Negi's return to the room was greeted by some with relief. The class soon settled in to its normal din, talking and studying going hand in hand. At least to the extent that it usually did during study time, while Negi was overseeing it.

At the moment, Negi was at the front of the classroom, simply maintaining watch and enjoying the time he had with his students. Asuna smiled just a little as she watched him a moment. Then she felt a buzzing vibration from her pocket, and blinked out from watching, glancing back and forth and pulling her phone to check it. The message wasn't entirely unexpected, but she hadn't quite expected it to be arriving this early. Application accepted for Mahora Security. And wanting her to come later in the day to get her procedure manual, and get her initial briefing on upcoming events that would be requiring security to be maintaining extra watch. She didn't notice Negi glancing her way until he cleared his throat softly. She blushed and switched the phone off, slipping it back into her uniform jacket. Negi didn't quite let it go with that though, he was still curious. "Interesting text message, I take it?"

Asuna blushed a little as the quiet comment drew more attention back in her direction, grumbling just a little. _I suppose I was just asking to be singled out that time, for checking it._ She relaxed herself then, smiling and shrugging. "Just finding out another stop I'll need to make after class. Aside from perhaps the English Culture Research Club..." She smiled just a little. "having an unofficial meeting later, in our usual training location, to get some more studying and other discussion done possibly." She glanced around to the Ala Alba crew quickly, smiling. Then looked back to Negi. "Outside of that, evidently they might want me starting security before next semester starts. The message was them wanting me to stop in to get a copy of the procedure manual and initial briefing."

A few of then blinked, but there was much smiling and nodding among them as well. And a bit of surprise at the mention of what the text was about. Some hadn't known yet that she was intending to stay, figuring she would be going back to her real 'home', and gone after the semester ended.

She would have mentioned the other part, but nothing was 'certain', yet on that front, until she had confirmation from Chao and possibly Hakase. Once she knew that end was going smoothly, and the acceleration of the project was underway, she would mention it. The sooner the better, both for the project and for keeping the class together. She glanced back idly at the class, noticing one less than enthused expression. Evangeline. _Of course. I'll have to talk to her later. _Eva noticed her looking, and sent her a glare. She turned around, smiling once Eva couldn't see it.

The remainder of the study hall settled into the general din of students studying and reviewing. Some doing it in groups were a little more noisy than others, but none were trying to do the stripping game version at least. She, however, was busily thinking about what she needed training in and how she'd need to train for it. She wasn't as good as she needed to be, with anything. _Lets see... continue training with Setsuna for the big sword, I'll need to hang around the casters while they're practicing... Hmm. I should find out if it's possible to adjust the null field to let something with a particular signature gather and go out unaffected. If so, I need to learn how to do it, if not, I need to be careful about controlling the size so I'm not blocking outbound attacks. __Kanka... well, I shouldn't be trying to divide my attention that many ways, really. If no way to learn that kind of control over the null field is available immediately, I'll practice with what I know. If I can learn enough on my own... __I know he probably wouldn't mind teaching, but if I'm stretched thin I don't want to be bothering Takahata over it as well. _She nodded to herself.

With that decided, she settled in her seat slightly, and waited for the class to end. A glance at the clock told her she wouldn't have to wait long. She smiled a little bit, wondering what would await her at the security office.

Konoka smiled over to Asuna as she put her books back in the bag. "So, off to security then? Good luck! We going to be seeing you between the security meeting and the meeting at the resort?"

Asuna nodded quickly, smiling in return. "Depends on how long the security briefing takes. Hopefully it won't be too long. They know I'm going on the trip, I'm certain. Not sure if they'll be trying me out on foot patrol or whatever else. They might want me to learn the procedure manual first..." She made a face then. "And probably during our vacation at that..."

The idea of that gave Konoka a little bit of a pouty face, for just a moment before she smiled again. "Well, hopefully not too much during the trip. I mean, it's our graduation trip, after all... That's supposed to be our time to have fun and not worry about it."

"I'm not worried about it. I'll study it on the plane and when we're doing something boring. I'm sure not all the activities will appeal to everyone after all. And whenever one comes up that doesn't appeal to me, I get study time in. No worries at all." She smiled and hopped up, gathering her books, and making sure she had a fresh notebook at the front of the bag for when she got to security. "Anyway, I'd better get going, don't want to be late!"

Konoka nodded and smiled. "See you later then!" She waved then, as Asuna hurried out from the classroom.

* * *

Asuna hurried to where the security office was, scampering across campus as quickly as she could manage through the traffic, trying to avoid it and keep going when possible. Even then, it took a few minutes to get to the security office. She checked the text message as she approached, for which room she needed.

When she entered the security office, the man at the desk smiled to her and nodded. "Miss Kagurazaka, I'm guessing? You're expected, and can head to room 3 for your appointment. The staffer who will be doing your briefing is already there waiting."

She blinked then and nodded. "Hope I didn't keep them waiting too long." She hurried down to room 3, sliding to a stop at the door, and opening it slowly, with a soft knock. "I'm here! Hurried as quick as I could..."

"You didn't bump anyone or knock them over trying to get here more quickly, did you, Asuna?" The door opened totally, and Takahata was standing in the security room, smiling as he saw her. "I know that one time was an accident, but I still worry when you say that."

Asuna smiled brightly upon seeing Takahata waiting for her. Then blushed hard. "I was as careful about hurrying as possible. I didn't hit anyone." She smiled then. "I've gotten better at dodging and avoiding since then. Keeps me from bowling people over. Don't want to get into trouble already, after all..." She slipped into the room totally then, and closed the door, settling in for the briefing. "Never thought it would be you doing the briefing..." She smiled.

Takahata nodded and smiled a moment, then his expression got more serious. "I'm the one who does it sometimes for those among the security staffers who are in know, and have to keep the school safe from both mundane and magic level threats. Technically, you're still a junior staffer, as a student. Unofficially, well, we discussed that."

"I'll be talking to them tonight about it, we'll be meeting in Eva's resort later on, when the clubs are all out and done for the day. I know Setsuna already does foot patrols at least. I'm sure there will be no objection to jumping in if it's an emergency. Outside of that, though..." Asuna frowned slightly, thinking. "The others aren't in security. We needing more security staffers? I could probably convince some of them to join..."

"I'm pretty sure we won't be too hard up for junior staffers, actually. And there are plenty who won't want to sign up, I'm certain. Having them in emergencies should be enough, hopefully." He considered a moment. "Going to be going to Eva's tonight, huh? Planning on training? Or are some of them going to be studying there as well?"

Asuna smiled just a little bit. "Yeah, it's officially a study session for us and whoever anyone wants to come outside of it. I'm planning to ask Ayaka if she wants to come..." A brief pause. "Any training will be done within the group tonight. Eva didn't look too happy to be having us crashing her place later, so unless she's wanting to beat someone up for it, especially me... I didn't plan on bothering her for it. The studying especially will go better if Negi is there. Depending on Chao, he might need to be talking to her, Hakase and Fate, but... hopefully that won't take all night, even if it does happen today."

Takahata nodded a little bit as he listened to that. "Well, I guess you'll see what happens on that front when you get there. Still, you shouldn't be using that for studying too much. Might upset some of the teachers who know about it. For now, however..." He held up the procedural manual for the Security Department. "You need a copy of this, and should be learning it as soon as possible. Your job will be starting very soon after you return from your graduation trip."

"Before the new semester starts? Huh. Didn't realize anything would be going on at that point. Won't the students be off campus at least mostly?" Asuna pondered that. "So what exactly is it that's going to be happening during the break?"

"A hopefully quiet diplomatic conference between the Kanto and Kansai associations, and one of the larger American ones, partially. The Americans are also talking about showing some of their younger students the campus and how it operates. On the outside, to teachers who aren't in the loop, it's been cited as a group of American private school students. Basically looking at Mahora as an alternative to their current schools." Takahata frowned slightly. "The number of students isn't high, but if any rogue elements get it in their heads to try taking any disputes with the American organizations out on the students in any form, we need to be able to prevent it. And if there aren't enough chaperones, and there might not be, we may need to help watch them during their visit, and when they tour the city."

"And of course, only the ones in the know can help with the situation. I may talk to a few of them about that, I'm sure this is a situation where some of the girls would be glad to pitch in. Still... depending on how many there are..." She frowns. "When they go look at the city and surrounding area will be the most potentially dangerous. How young are we speaking of here, though?" Asuna frowned. "I'm hoping that they're smarter than to bring primary school age children here."

Takahata shook his head. "That's the problem, really. They're bringing a group of seven and eight year old kids. Negi might have have been overly mature at that point, but these kids won't be." He sighed. "But no one tried to dissuade them, evidently, so... yes, if some of the girls could help, that would be great. Mana will be around likely, but she might be charging us if she has to pull us off the fire too often."

Asuna started flipping through the manual as she listened to Takahata telling her the details of the first situation, nodding at some of the points made. When he finished, she frowned severely. "Sounds as though it has the potential to turn into a disaster if it goes bad. Mana likes kids, but... yeah, if she sees us as unable to take care of the problem, she'll likely charge. Still... good encouragement to do it ourselves without her." She flipped further through the manual, looking over the procedures and forms required for it. "I'll get the procedure manual learned before that, anyway. First one I'll ask for helping with it is probably Konoka, with Setsuna already on it, she'll likely want to help..." She trailed off slightly, thinking, almost laughing after a moment, looking to Takamichi as she did and raising her eyebrows.

Takahata nodded just a bit. "Yes, Konoka is also good with children, another good reason to have her high on the list for helping." He blinked as Asuna trailed off and started laughing, blinking just a bit curiously. "Er... what's so funny?"

"Ever miss the days of just going out and dealing with a situation, and evaluating it on site as it happened? Without the paperwork and procedures and everything?" Asuna shook her head then, still smiling. "If he saw us now, with procedure books and all the careful planning that might go out the window... Depending on whether they bring the numbers implied and indicated, and what kind of problems and rogue elements show up, what kind of problems might happen internally from the sheer fact that it's little kids..." She ticked off all the potential hiccups on her fingers. "Anyway, he'd either laugh at how meticulous we're trying to be without having seen the situation, or just shake his head that we've gotten like this."

That drew a laugh from Takahata, as he understood. "Or just remind us that no plan survives contact with the situation. Probably right though, it could be either. Look at us, all the recklessness gone, practically being bureaucrats." He shook his head a little bit, still smiling. "I'm sure he'd be happy to see you finding it so funny. Still, the situation is different. Not like the old Rubra days. We're not going to be wandering to a new location to fix something else once we're done, so we need to handle the situation more responsibly in terms of documenting it for others, and having plans in place. Any questions on the procedure manual, so far?"

"Suppose so. And obviously Ala Alba is limited on some counts by student status, unless there's a chance to get excused for absences caused in the line of resolving a major problem. I'd rather not wind up having to ask for that, though. Not even sure we'll be operating like that really. If we do wind up having to go places to fix anything, it'll be nice to have a home we can come back to after. Rather than cheap hotels, or rented rooms." Asuna laughed just a little at that. "Still, not sure who we'd use as a public face at this point, anywhere, even using a cover. Might be good to have Ayaka in totally for that..." She stopped herself then. "And I'm getting off topic again, sorry. No questions so far. It's pretty straightforward. Too many forms to fill out, but they don't look overly hard either."

"Ayaka or Chizuru, anyway. Naba Heavy Industries is going to be involved as well, after all. And didn't I hear she has a healing artifact? I'm surprised you haven't asked her about being support staff already, now that you can avert the breakup." He smiled then. "Suppose there hasn't been time, right? Anyway, yes, a little off topic again. Good to hear that there aren't any questions on the manual. Just make sure you know it and are ready to chaperone the kids."

The mention of Chizuru made Asuna twitch promptly, looking over at Takahata. "Actually, I was thinking about her earlier today in study hall. Mostly in terms avoiding the artifact you just mentioned. Did anyone tell you how it worked? It came out as the working version of her older home remedy with the leeks. For myself, I'd rather not be violated by a leek. I'm actually quite glad I can make sure it won't work." She smiled a little bit then, nodding. "Anyway, anything else you need to go over with me for the briefing?"

Takamichi blinked, giving Asuna a curious look at that. Then thought about it more. "Oh... _that_ remedy..." he winced. "Definitely not something wanted, even if it does work." He shook his head then and laughed. "And that was about it for the briefing. That and the foot patrol sign-up sheet..." he gestured to it. "You should make sure you read the manual before doing that, though."

Asuna nodded just a little and smiled. "Yeah, worse than that, the artifact is mind-affecting to some extent as well. All in all, damned scary." She looked at the sign-up sheet and nodded. "Okay then. I guess I'd better get back to the dorm, if that's all. Need to start studying the manual, and get ready for Eva's tonight. And hope the 130 years asleep before coming back hasn't affected me too much in combat. I'd hate to be all signed up and ready to start security work, only to find out I've suddenly become useless in a fight. But that's for tonight, I'm hoping Setsuna will be able to help me work that out and fix it if needed." She reached for the door handle then, opening it up. "Always good seeing you, at any rate. See you later maybe."

"It's a possibility." Takahata nodded a little and smiles. "Have a good evening, Asuna-chan."

"I'm planning on it!" She slipped out the door then, not hurrying too much until she was outside. The foot traffic had gone down some, making the trek quicker.

* * *

As Asuna arrived back at the dorm and hurried up the stairs, the first thing she noticed was that the door to her room with Konoka and Negi was open. She smiled a little bit. She figured on Konoka being back. Yet it wasn't Konoka's voice she heard. She didn't hear what exactly was said, but she smiled more, recognizing Setsuna's voice. She slowed her approach to the door, tapping on the frame before entering. "You two wanting to be alone, or can I drop my books before heading to grab a bite and get to Eva's for the study meeting?"

The reaction to the implication was quite immediate. Setsuna started blushing beet red, and Konoka dissolved into giggles seeing it. Meanwhile, Chamo stuck his little head out the door to look at Asuna, his little face and voice giving the distinct appearance of disappointment. It crept into his voice as well. "Nothing exciting going on here, ane-san. Setsuna hasn't loosened up quite _that_ much with Konoka, yet-"

He was interrupted after that comment by a shadow falling over him. Setsuna picked him up by the scruff of the neck, and held him so her eyes would meet his properly. "Such comments are improper. You should not even be joking about them."

Chamo gulped as he looked at Setsuna's intense glare, squirming just a little bit. "Aww, c'mon, nee-san... You and Konoka-san should totally be enjoying one another more. Especially when I'm around to see it!"

Setsuna's blush intensified, even as she glared. Konoka, meanwhile, slipped up from her bunk, still giggling, and wrapped her arms around Setsuna quickly. "Secchan, he's just being a silly perv, that's just how he is. Don't be too mean to him. He's been helping me some on my other study work as well. I had to stop for finals in the normal classes, but..." She smiled.

Asuna just shook her head, giving Chamo a... less than serious scowl. "Little perv of an ermine. You really are going to step over the line some day, you know that? And someone with a temper worse than mine will do something horrible to you. You're just lucky I'm in too good of a mood to do it myself."

Setsuna looked over to Asuna at that. "Speaking of which, should I guess this meeting tonight is partly about maintaining Ala Alba under it's official club name listing and status, for the next school year?"

"Yeah, that's a big part of it. I thought we should touch base just in case, I'm hoping we can keep a stable group together in case something comes up." Asuna slipped in and dug the textbooks out of her bag, leaving the notes for the classes. "Not to mention dealing with what we found out about Negi's father, when over there. It may have been an illusion trying to draw him into a trap, but it may not have been. We need to figure out which, and figure out what kind of action to take to resolve it and get him back. Depending on circumstances, I'm rating that as a long term project, though. In the short term, I'd like to keep us together, yes. And maybe be able to handle smaller situations if they come up. As good as the training in the resort is, field experience is still better." She smiled then. "Since I'm staying around, I'm also hoping to pick back up on sword training. I haven't had it out since coming back, and I don't want to find out that I'm really rusty and thus useless, if I try to pull it out in a situation."

"You have been improving, but you have much to learn still." Setsuna nodded a bit. "And since you went so long without wielding the blade, even while asleep, it is smart to be checking first. This can be handled in Eva's later tonight. Once we are done studying, of course."

Asuna smiled and nodded, then looked to Setsuna. "Potentially assisting with emergency situations was one of the things discussed during the security briefing, between Takahata-sensei and I. In theory, even if Negi is busy, between the rest of us we can bring more to bear on a problem than the security staff can. Also..." She sighed. "Mention was made of a situation coming up after break, that I'm dreading on two levels. If the conference with the American groups heads towards what happened prior, Negi or I will likely be dragged there to say something about it. Since Negi might be busy, and I'll be there for sure..." She trailed off, and looked to Konoka. "Anyway, the second issue with it is them bringing some little kids from their magic schools on a field trip here. Since the campus will be empty and all. But not enough chaperones, and security staff limited to those 'in the know'. That is being discussed as at least a dry run for more of us helping security, past those signed up. Since it's a 'nice, easy job' that basically involves babysitting seven year old kids." She made a face. "That's also going to be the start of me working for Security directly, as well."

Konoka laughed at the face and shook her head. "Great first job for you, since you don't like 'brats', yes?" She grinned and giggled again at the expression Asuna gave to the comment. "Hmm... Not all of us are good with kids though. I'm sure I could probably help, though." She looked over to Setsuna, smiling still. "Hmm, maybe we could be doing foot patrols and stuff together... it could be nice and romantic..."

Setsuna blushed hard at that and sighed very softly. "Kono-chan ojou-sama..." She shook her head a little bit. "The matter could be serious if someone tries to capture the children. And we need to make sure they don't cause problems..."

"I know..." Konoka laughed. "Just hoping to have some fun along with it. Guess we'll have to save it for when we're not patrolling, then." She slipped up to give Setsuna a hug then, causing her to blush further.

"Yeah, great first job..." Asuna sighed and shook her head, smiling just a little after. "All kinds of little brats to deal with." She laughed a bit at Konoka and Setsuna. "Foot patrols will be part of it, some of us will probably have to go along if they go see the rest of the city as well. Can't be letting them cause a problem in the shopping areas, either."

Setsuna frowned and nodded slightly at that. "Our courses of action will be severely limited at that point. They have of course been warned of the consequences of exotic misconduct. But with limited supervision, the idea may be tempting."

Konoka laughed and shook her head. "You're both silly. I'm sure it'll be just fine. They'll behave for us if we're watching them. It'll be a good experience. We just need to keep them entertained. That's all."

"That's all, huh?" Asuna snorted, making sure she had her notes, her bath supplies, and anything else she would need for Eva's, packed up properly. "Because that's just _so_ easy... I haven't the slightest idea what will keep 7 year old kids entertained outside of sitting them in front of their own cartoons. Since at least half the anime shows on are definitely not for kids." She shouldered the bag then. "Anyway, supper, then on to Eva's for the study session and any discussions that need having. Depending on how far the rumor of my departure got spread, I'll probably have to deal with that as well. Ayaka found out somehow after all." She sighs. "Anyway, discussion hopefully will be for when Negi shows up."

They nodded quickly, and she slipped out the door, heading for supper. All the while pondering what would happen at Eva's later.


End file.
